


White Lightning -Sting Eucliffe-

by GoldenSapphire3



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Anime, Dragon Slayers, Dragons, F/M, Fairytail, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Love, Mates, Multi, Original Character(s), POV First Person, POV Original Character, POV Third Person, Romance, Slow Burn, Soulmates, anime fanfiction, fairy tail - Freeform, semi-mature, teen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 06:28:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30068097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenSapphire3/pseuds/GoldenSapphire3
Summary: Iris has a grueling secret that leads her across every nation, eventually landing in Fiore. During the time of after the dragons made their last appearance, leaving her lost and confused, unable to know how to combat the feelings she holds, nor how to live out the rest of her life- She falls, plummets, and into the awaiting jaws of a Saber. Swallowing her whole.-Rewritten version of 2015's 'Rainbow Dragon'. Enjoy!-(Available on Quotev, WattPad, and AO3)
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Sting Eucliffe/Original Female Character(s), Yukino Aguria/Rogue Cheney





	1. Chapter 1

"Iris you really have got to lay off on the caramel- IRIS!" As Lina scolded me while we were in mid-flight, I continued eating the small caramel candies defiantly. These were basically the only things I did eat, as the money we scrounged up around was used for hotels to sleep in for the night. And sometimes that didn't even happen. Leaving us to sleep on the roofs of buildings. Which can be nice, but that usually left with both of us soaked to the bone from a storm during the night.  
  
"I'm lim-miting myself today."  
  
"I have already seen you eat 50 of those since you woke up three hours ago."  
  
"Yeah, limiting." I retorted, not seeing much of a problem with my bad eating habits.  
  
"Irisss~" She whined before shouting startled the both of us.  
  
"Pinky!"  
  
"Annoying Lemondrop!" 'Wow, such amazing insults.' I thought to myself dramatically.  
  
"Hey uh, Iris."  
  
"Y-Yeah?"  
  
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" My eyes widened before feeling the wind rush against my face as we plummeted to the ground. I tossed the bag of empty wrappers to the side, turning around to grab ahold of Lina and cradle her to my chest as we made an impact with a shingle roof. I gasped out in pain, groaning as I felt the metal dig into my back.  
  
"Iris! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't realize how long we had been flying for!" Lina immediately checked to see if I was alright. She hopped off of my chest, her paws on my arm as I carefully sat up, feeling stinging on my back. When I went to turn and look at Lina to tell her that I was alright, I felt my eyes bug out for a moment and a wave of dizziness interrupt me.  
  
"Iris, you aren't okay, are you?"  
  
"I-I-I will be. We just need to get off of this roof-"  
  
"Hey, are you two okay up there?!" I blinked, wincing when that only brought me pain. I figured to just close my eyes for a few moments to let them adjust.  
  
"I'm okay, but she isn't, I think she hit her head pretty hard!" Yelled Lina down to whoever was on the ground.  
  
"Okay, I will be up-"  
  
"N-No I-I can get down by myself," I stated shaking, feeling my heart rate spike from the fear I felt. I did my best to stand up, my knees wobbling and the dizziness getting worse, "Iris please don't you can't stand upright now-"  
  
"Hey Hood, stay there I'm almost up!" Called the voice from the worried person. I didn't want to trouble this person any further, opting to try and take a small step forward- Forgetting that we were currently on a shingled rooftop. I felt my foot slide before I heard Lina yell at me. I opened my eyes in panic as I fell backward, my arms instinctively outstretched to the heavens.  
  
A firm grip replaced the air in my left hand, stopping me from falling back, however, my foot was still slipping. I was pulled up in one fluid motion, crashing into a muscled figure. With a sudden motion, a wave of nausea hit me, bringing me to bury my face into the shirt- jacket, thing? And hold me back from vomiting.  
  
"We are so sorry for bothering you, mister!" I heard Lina's voice state, mostly likely bowing to the point of her cat ears touching the tips of her toes.  
  
"It's okay, I don't mind helping out people." He stated, wrapping his arms securely around me, "Does it hurt to open your eyes, Hood?" I meekly nodded, feeling rather embarrassed at the moment.  
  
"Y-Y-Yeah." He moved one of his arms up, cradling the back of my head, softly feeling around for a bump once he had pulled my hood down.  
  
"Oh yeah, you have a good goose egg going on there. Come on, let's get you down from here. Wrap your arms around me." My cheeks heated up at the request. With my eyes still closed, I wrapped my arms under his arms and up to his back, clutching tight to the back of his clothing.  
  
"You alright with me carrying you?" I didn't want to inconvenience him any further by saying 'no', so I shake my head, "It's f-fine..." His arms went under my thighs, picking me up and holding me on the side of his hip bone before I felt the wind brush past my face, telling me he must have had jumped down from the roof.  
  
Only a small grunt from the pressure gave me any indication that he didn't feel much pain his feet or legs from jumping from the heights- whatever height that it was anyway. I couldn't tell too well before we had lost altitude and plummeted.  
  
"Sting-kun, is the missus okay?" Asked a different voice.  
  
"She is injured, hit her head and back pretty hard. We are going to take her back to the guild. It will be the closest place to get her medical attention." I heard a soft hum reverberate out of his throat.  
  
"Okay! Missus, you are very lucky Sting-kun was around when you fell!" _'His name must have been Sting... This was the second time he was called that.'_ I thought to myself. I squeaked in surprise when 'Sting' took off running. I buried my face into him again, feeling the dizziness wash over me.  
  
"Lector, make sure you get her friend to the guild safely! I'm going on ahead!"  
  
"Yes sir!".  
  
With several whooshes of air and feeling like my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head- Sting came to a startling stop, before kicking a door open and then speed walking through it.  
  
"Oi Yukino, anyone in the infirmary?" He asked aloud, "Uh no? Why-"  
  
"Perfect." He mumbled before beginning to walk again.  
  
A few moments later we were in a different room and I was sat onto a comfy mattress, the sound of a door closing and shutters being shut hitting my reliable hearing. I could see from behind my eyelids how the pounding and obnoxious light of the early morning was lessened into more calm and gentle, not as striking and hurtful.  
  
"Can you open your eyes for me? I closed all of the shutters and curtains, so it shouldn't hurt to open your eyes as much." I chewed on the inside of my cheek nervously, feeling my heart thump in my chest as I cautiously began to open my eyes, wincing when only a little bit of light bled through and immediately closing them.  
  
"Come on, flutter them open. You can do it. Just one fell swoop- I got you." I felt his hands cup around my eyes, giving me more shields from the brightness. "I got you, Hood." I released a breath, preparing myself to open them again. I nodded softly, signaling him that I was going to try. This time around, when I slowly opened my eyes- They didn't water or hurt as bad, my vision was a little impaired as they adjusted to the light.  
  
Once they were fully opened, Sting retracted each hand one at a time, smiling softly at me as I took in his features. _'Blond hair... Serious eyes...'_ My gaze locked onto his deep blue eyes, feeling the wave crash over me, along with the smell of Lemon and Salt enveloping me. The odd and striking combination wasn't hard on or overwhelming, it was calming like a lemon candle your grandmother would always have lit when you were little.  
  
"How is your head feeling?" He asked me after a few moments of silence, his ears tinting pink.  
  
"B-Bru-i-ising I think." I stuttered out, cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. He chuckled with a small nod, standing up to walk over to one of the cabinets, pulling out a first aid kit before walking back over to me.  
  
"And your back?"  
  
"Also... Bruised." My eyelids fluttered in interest as I saw him take out a several use ice pack, shaking the bag to make it cool.  
  
"You don't feel any cuts or anything?"  
  
"N-No..." I unconsciously rub the back of my arm, feeling the withered scars under the fabric.  
  
"Okay. I will have Yukino take a look at your back. For right now, I will tend to your head, alright?" I nodded in understanding, letting him press the cool ice pack against the back of my head.  
  
"Hold it there for me, 'kay? I have to see if your eyes dilate or not. You might have a concussion." I held the ice pack firmly against the back of my head while Sting grabbed a flashlight from one of the tables in the room. Shining it in my eyes, going back and forth, watching my pupils intensely.  
  
I blinked rapidly when he turned off the light, Sting cupping my face in his hand and softly turning my face from side to side, checking it out.  
  
"No stiff neck... And your pupils are dilating. But just to be safe, don't fall asleep for a bit, okay?" A breath of relief left me, glad that my injury wasn't that serious.  
  
"I'm gonna go and get Yukino- oh and Hood?" I looked up at him curiously as he was about to leave the room.  
  
"Name is Sting, Sting Eucliffe. Around here I am known as Sabertooth's Guild Master." He introduced himself to me with a charming smile. I smiled softly at him.  
  
"U-Uh, Iris."  
  
"No last name?" I quickly shook my head, not wanting to tell him it. I didn't know this guy. I had to heed her warnings. For Lina and I's safety.  
  
"Iris is a cute name, Hood. I will be sure to remember it." He told me before giving me a thumbs up and leaving the room. It took me a few moments to realize the compliment- And that he flirted with me.  
  
"Oh.." My cheeks warmed up at the thought before I squeaked and shook my head. 'No Iris! It was probably nothing. He- He seems like a nice guy who's personality is naturally charming. Nothing meant by it.' I told myself, not wanting to be put in such an awkward situation.  
  
The door opened and in came walking a white-haired girl with soft brown eyes. She smiled at me cheerily, extending her arm down to me.  
  
"I'm Yukino! I heard from Sting that you landed on a roof? I'm here to check your back since you might be uncomfortable with a male checking it." _'That's why he went and got her...'_  
  
"Uh hi... I-I'm I-Ir-Iris."  
  
"Lovely to meet you, Miss Iris!" I shake her hand to not be rude.  
  
"You too."  
  
"Do you mind taking off your jacket? And whatever is underneath it. Just so I can see your back better." I held back a shaky sigh, gulping down my nerves before pulling my jacket off of my body, leaving my T-shirt on halfway down my arms to cover my breasts and the marks on my arms.  
  
"Okay let's see..." I jumped when I felt Yukino's hand rest on my shoulder, feeling her eyes burn into the expanses of my back.  
  
"There aren't any big gashes, but there is quite a big bruise forming on the side of your rib." _'The shingles did dig into my back when I landed.'_ I thought, hearing Yukino grab things out of the first aid kit Sting was already in from earlier, wincing as she began spread alcohol across my back to clean up my cuts.  
  
"Where are you heading to? One of the ports?"  
  
"Ah not anywhere really... L-Lina and I are just traveling around w-with no clear direction o-o-on where we w-want to be." I told her.  
  
"You aren't part of a guild or anything?" I shake my head before I furrowed my brows in confusion.  
  
"H-How did you know-?"  
  
"Your scars. I can tell they are from fighting. I just figured you were a wizard." I frowned, glancing off to the side, gripping onto my shirt tighter. _'She has a keen eye if she noticed them that quickly...'_ , "I was... Not anymore." I yelped at the sudden cold-pressed into the bruise on my back, hearing her ask me briefly to hold it there.  
  
"I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage. It isn't that special as some other people's magic I know."  
  
"W-What do you mean? I-Isn't that hard to learn? Y-You a-are drawing power from the Spirit World, r-r-right?"  
  
"I mean yeah. But I mean in the sense of all of the limitations as the Spirits have lives too, they aren't just some dolls I can call upon whenever I want to. You can move your hand now." I move my hand away, feeling the ice pack move up and down my back, soothing the tense muscles.  
  
"Everyone has limits... Doesn't matter what type of magic you hold." I told her truthfully, hearing her giggle. "That's true enough... But it always seems like we push those limits all the time, no matter what. Especially if lives are at stake."  
  
"A-Adren-naline," I answered her. "Huh?"  
  
"T-The adrenaline fires off your body, m-making it d-d-draw out more strength."  
  
"Really? I never really thought of it tying in like that... But, I can see where you are coming up with the idea. It's pretty neat! Are you a magic student?" I shake my head, "No. I don't go to any schools."  
  
"You had me fooled for a moment, you answered that right away." My lips turned into a frown, brushing my hair out of my face, jumping when I felt her place adhesive bandages onto my back.

_**\---** _

_**3rd Person's POV** _

Sting had walked out of that infirmary, down the hall, out in the open where the rest of the guild was at, walked past Yukino, briefly telling her that she needed her back looked at, before speed walking to Rogue, grabbing the back of his shirt and dragging him out of his seat and away from the others.  
  
"H-Hey!"  
  
"I need to talk to you about something?"  
  
"Is it really that important to interrupt a game of old maid?" Rogue questioned as he was let go when the two were in a more secluded place, away from the others.  
  
"Yes. Rogue, do you remember the lessons you were taught growing up?"  
  
"Uh of course, why?"  
  
"It happened." The dark-haired male wore a quizzical look for a few seconds, his head tilting as he tried to figure out what his best friend was trying to hint at.  
  
"What happened? What is this 'It'- Oh shit." He paused, eyes widening, "You mean... That, _'It'_?"  
  
"Yeah..." Sting looked away from Rogue's shit-eating grin, ears blazing hot.  
  
"You mean the girl you had just brought into the infirmary?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"You didn't realize it until now?"  
  
"I didn't stare into her eyes until now." He was reminded of the deep blues that swirled in her eyes, the combination with her dark navy blue hair and cute nose and soft lips- He groaned, throwing his head back in exasperation.  
  
"I am done for."  
  
"Oh come on, don't be dramatic. So, you found your partner for life, right? Not a huge deal."  
  
"The problem is that she isn't a Dragon Slayer. She wasn't taught this, she isn't going to stick around me long enough to actually like me! To want to be with me! I felt the connection instantly, it seemed like once we made eye contact, everything changed, things are more vibrant now, my sense of the world is expanded and she smells- Not in a bad way- Just like plum blossoms with a hint of lavender. And I don't even like lavender!" Rogue's kept smirking during Sting's ramble, leaning back on his heels as he crossed his arms, watching the blood process what just happened.  
  
"Soo..?? What's her name?"  
  
"Iris... Which is cute too damn it!" Rogue snorted, "This is really amusing to watch."  
  
"This is what it was like for you and Yukino??"  
  
"Yeah man, but I don't think I was freaking out as much as you are right now. I was just like, _'Oh, there she is.'_ Ya know?"  
  
"Don't _'ya know'_ me! This is really overwhelming, I could barely keep myself together in there so I didn't scare her away!"  
  
"Yukino understood when I told her years later, and didn't seem to mind the whole Dragon funk, ya know. You and- I-Iris? Yeah, will be fine." Rogue told him, resting his hand on Sting's shoulder.  
  
"No like like, this is really bad. Like _super_ bad. My heart is pounding inside of my chest and out of it! I can't get her out of my head. I feel so horrible for not being there to catch her when she fell and-"  
  
"Wait, fell from where?" Sting blinked, "Uh from her friend-"  
  
"That magically has wings." Sting could feel his heart drop.  
  
"Rogue~! Sting~!" Came running Frosch, the cute little exceed running his little legs off to reach them. Rogue bent down, grabbing the exceed to hold him in his arms. Reminding the two of them, that if Iris had an exceed, that she must have been a dragon slayer. As all of the other dragon slayers they had met had one of their own as a companion as well.  
  
"But she doesn't smell like a dragon slayer-"  
  
"Your mate senses are probably overriding that smell. Lead me to her and I will check and see, okay?" Rogue told him. Sting scrunched his brows together, not really enjoying the idea of Rogue sniffing his mate, a small wave of possessiveness dulling his thought process for a minute.  
  
"And no, I am not going to take her away just because she smells good. I am not a cannibal." Rogue told him, "Besides, I'm already committed to another. I'm not going to take that away from you, I'm not taking her away from you." Rogue continued more sternly. Sting eased up a little, sighing heavily.  
  
The twin dragon slayers walked to the infirmary room, going unnoticed by their guildmates as they were too caught up with their own lives to worry about the story that was unwinding at the moment.  
  
The door to the infirmary opened and came walking in the two, seeing that Iris had her hoodie back on while Yukino was wrapping up Iris' hands in bandages.  
  
"Your hands got hurt too?" Sting questioned, pinching himself in the side for not noticing. Rogue sniffed the air, brows furrowed in confusion.  
  
"U-Uh n-no... O-old.."  
  
"These wounds are old, don't worry. She was telling me about falling down a tree when she lost her footing. In the process, she scratched up her hands pretty badly." Yukino answered for her, smiling softly at the shy girl. Having her back.  
  
"You seem to fall a lot, Hood."  
  
"She is quite clumsy, it's surprising she doesn't have a thousand welts on her every day." Stated a new voice Yukino nor Rogue recognized. The two looked past the doorway to see Lector flying Lina in, the two exceeds landing next to Iris. Sting saw how Iris brightened up when she saw her friend, her form relaxing and beautiful eyes shining.  
  
"L-Lina!"  
  
"Yes it is me, are you alright?"  
  
"She is all patched up! She will be okay in a few days." Yukino informed her. Rogue and Sting shared a small look, Rogue's eyes telling him it all. No dragon scent, she didn't smell like it... She smelled like a normal person.  
  
"Thank you all for your help, I apologize on our behalf for the inconvenience." Lina bowed, whacking Iris' arm to get her to bow her head. "Ah! Yeah, um t-thank you very much.." Iris thanked her, face flushed red. Sting had to look away when he saw the red reveal the freckles on her cheeks and over her nose. She is getting way too cute for him to handle.  
  
"No need for thanks. We don't mind helping others out!"  
  
"How much do you want us to pay you? For medical care?" Lina asked then quickly turned her attention to Iris.  
  
"How much money do you have in your pocket?" Iris blinked before quickly shoving her hand into her pants pocket, digging around inside to grab the coins that they did have. The three guild members peered down at Iris, watching her count under her breath.  
  
"...520 jewels."  
  
"Will that be enough to cover for the care-" Lina questioned, bowing her head again, "We apologize that we do not have more on us. A few days ago we were hit by robbers and they had taken the rest of it." Iris nodded along to her words to confirm.  
  
"W-We are r-really s-sorry." Sting felt his heart rate rise in anger at the knowledge of knowing that they were robbed.  
  
He looked from Lina and Iris, down to Iris' bandaged hands that cradled the little money that they had left, connecting the dots. _'Did she get hurt when those robbers came? Did she try to climb a tree to get away?' _A low growl of anger escaped him, scaring Iris as she was startled by the sound, squeaking like a scared puppy.  
  
"You don't need to pay us. It's fine, keep the money, you need it more than we do." Yukino quickly took Iris' attention off from Sting while Rogue biffed the back of his head. "Rule number one, _don't scare her._ "  
  
"Sorry, it just slipped out!" Sting stated in a hushed whisper. Iris arched her brow, her ear twitching as she heard their words. While Yukino continued speaking.  
  
"It's getting late out, do you guys want me to take you to a motel-"  
  
"No, they can stay here." Sting interrupted Yukino. The white-haired wizard looked up at Sting, nodding in understanding.  
  
"We have a room available?"  
  
"We do." Sting's and Iris' eyes connected again, the connection between the two strengthening before they looked away, faces flushing pink. Rogue glanced at Yukino, both having the same thought.  
  
 _'Mutual attraction, sweet.'_.

_**To Be continued** _


	2. Chapter 2

Later that day, into the night time, Lina was sprawled out on the bed, snoring away without a care in the world. Iris sat next to her, gently stroking her fingers over her stomach, petting her, and coaxing the exceed more into dreamland. 

A knock on the door garnered her attention, the blue eyes girl looking to the door. "Come in." She stated softly, hoping whoever was on the other side of the door could hear. She didn't want to raise her voice too high in case she woke up Lina. 

The door opened to reveal Sting, his serious eyes looking more droopy and tired as he entered. "How are you settling in?" He asked her, his heart fluttering when she smiled at him. "Good... L-Lina is fast asleep." She stated, thankful for their hospitality. 

"That's good. Eat enough from dinner?" He asked her further, walking into the room and picking up a pencil holder from the desk as he averted his gaze away from hers. 

"W-We did, yes. Lina r-really stu-f-ffed herself." Iris told him, gesturing to her protruding stomach from all of the yummy foods she ate. 

"And you?" He asked her. Looking away from the pencil holder, he remarked silently to himself about how thin she looked to be, her jacket hiding most of her body, along with her baggy pants. He frowned at the thought of her not eating enough. 

"Ate more than w-what I could handle... B-But-! I-It was really good!" Iris felt her cheeks flame up in embarrassment at the thought of herself 'pigging out', in which in her mind was eating a whole meal by herself. 

"That's good. I'm glad that you both enjoyed it."

"D-Do wizard guilds u-usually have these dinners?" Iris inquired with a tilt of her head. "Nah not really." Sting began, leaning against the desk and setting the pencil holder back in place. "At Sabertooth we do, since a lot of the time, people are saving money for other things. Food is free here during certain times, at other hours of the day you have to buy it. We still have to keep the revenue going, since the jobs you go on, the guild only gets a small portion of the money depending on how much the reward was..." He trailed off, his words carrying on, watching her expression in amusement as Iris had seemed initially really interested in what he was saying- Turn into a look of disgust because she couldn't picture herself dealing with someone's finances, nor her own, hell even a whole wizard guild would be a nightmare. 

"It... It takes a lot to run this place, huh?"

"A lot of money, time, and energy. We were at the top of our game for a couple of years until Fairy Tail started making a comeback after their members returned after being missing for 7 years. Money isn't pouring in like it used to. Things that the old Guild Master would spend on without a care in the world left us with a lot of debts, tabs, and barely any money in the bank. With a lot of help... We did manage to get things back on track. Still, though, it's certainly a struggle to keep all of the numbers straight." Iris carefully stood up from the bed, walking over to the small wallet bag she had hanging down from the wardrobe knob

She grabbed it and turned to Sting, hands outstretched to him as she pushed it into his chest with a hefty bow. 

"P-Please take the m-money then... S-Start a tab for us t-that we have to pay off by the end of t-t-the month. Y- You need the money... More than us." She told him full-heartedly, feeling guilty for agreeing to not pay him right away. Sting frowned, his shoulders relaxing as he sighed. He carefully grabbed a hold of her hands, feeling the small jolt of electricity hit him from the contact he had with his mate. He took the wallet bag out of her hands, leaving Iris to straighten up, staring up at him. 

"I will take this and..." He didn't want to have her pay him for anything. This was his problem to deal with, Iris barely had enough money as it was. She needed to save. He wasn't going to make her pay him for anything at all. He tossed the bag a couple of times in between his hands before placing it back into her hands, "...and now it's back in your possession. This is your money, Iris. Use it wisely, save up, stay as long as you like, okay? I'm not going to pressure you to leave after today. I don't want you to get hurt or robbed again."

"B-But y-your m-m-money-?"

"I'm okay. The guild is okay. I just said that we can't overly spend anymore and that I really have to watch the numbers. Having you stay here is barely going to put a dent in my pocket, trust me."

"L-Let me do something in exchange then!" Iris told him, squeezing her wallet tightly. "I can work! I-I can... Work for me and Lina! To stay here, use the showers and to eat and j-just... Stuff in general!" Iris insisted on some form of payment, and that being any form, which leads to Sting's mind going to other places- Innapropiate ones. He looks away from her, shielding his blushing cheeks. 

"N-No! It's fine. Just get some rest for tonight, 'kay? Yukino's already showed you where the showers were, right?" Iris nodded, "She did... But I don't have anything to change into-"

"I can lend you some clothes." Sting blurted out before he could stop himself, watching Iris' cheeks flame up at the thought of wearing Sting's clothing. He felt a small ounce of possessiveness dictate his decision making, wanting to see her in his clothes, to smell her in his scent- He felt like a true weirdo at that sentiment. 

"Y-You sure? Because I can just wash these ones for the night and um..." Iris lost her trail of thought, Sting taking the chance to interrupt her, "It's fine. Just for the night, okay? Tomorrow I will ask if Yukino can go out with you and shop for some new clothes." Iris felt bad for being a burden and wanted to be able to just go out by herself and do things independently. But with how Sting was speaking to her, it was as if he was expecting her to say, 'Yes.'.

"I-I don't have enough money, I can deal with wearing the clothes I h-have n-now-"

"I will give you money. Alright? Here, I will be right back with clothes for you to change into after your shower." Sting left the room in a hurry, taking long strides as he exited into the hallway and down to his room. 

Iris stood there for a few moments, bewildered by how quick Sting wanted to help her, to trust her with his hard-earned money, why was he doing this? 

The lemon and salt scented mage returned minutes later with basketball shorts and a t-shirt, muttering an apology for not having any undergarments for her to wear. 

"I-It's okay! Y-You didn't have to give me clothes in the first place, Mister Sting." Sting lets out a small groan at the title, "Don't call me that. You don't have to. I'm not that old or hold any superiority over you. And just in general- Just call me Sting." Iris gulped, nodding slowly at his words, _'So just Sting then... I thought it would have been inappropriate to call him by his first name since he is a guild master... But also inappropriate to call him by his last name because it felt weird...'_ She thought with a small shake of her head, _'Stop overthinking things, Iris. Things are just going too fast today.'_

"Umm thank you then... I really appreciate it." Iris gave him a small strained smile, still feeling bad for him going out of his way for her. 

"It's no problem." Sting glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing the time. "Well, I gotta go and finish some things before heading to bed. Have a good night, Iris. Let me or anyone else know if you need anything."

"Okay." He smiled at her, bowing his head slightly as a nod before leaving the room to let her get ready for a shower. 

**\---**

The warm water pouring down her back, thoughts swarming her mind as the steam rose and rose high into the ceilings, spreading throughout the girl's side of the showers and locker rooms- She was feeling the thoughts weigh heavily down on her, guilt wrenching up her throat. She bit the bike down the back of her throat, not wanting to cave into her mind's desires. 

It was silent in the room beside the running water and the sound of her own heartbeat and small puffs of air, intake and exhale. It really made her feel alone, isolated, with no one to speak to or be in comforts with. She didn't generally mind the silence, as long as she knew somebody was there next to her. To know that they were breathing, heart rate normal, and smiles on their faces. 

She has to remind herself constantly that she wasn't a burden, that she should try harder than she has already been, that no matter what, she can't get her mother back. 

Iris turned off the water, breathing in deeply, exhaling slowly to calm herself down. _'One night... Then we are off... Keep moving.'_ She thought with the idea of having no intention of staying. Even though Sting had told her that she was welcomed here for as long as she liked. She just wanted to pay him for the food and care that she was supplied with for the night and leave, continue to travel with Lina. 

She dried herself off with a fluffy white towel, ear twitching when she heard soft voices coming from the hallway outside of the locker rooms. She chose to ignore, not wanting to eavesdrop and impose.

She put on the basketball shorts, fumbling with her bottom lip in between her teeth, "Too big.." She softly whispered, glancing around to find a way to tie a knot in it to keep them up on her waist. She could probably manage to pull them up the whole way to her ribs, she knew that Sting was taller and had more muscle than she did, that was a given, and didn't expect less from it. 

She grabbed her knapsack, searching through the bag where she knew she had kept a ribbon in if she ever wanted to tie her hair up. 

"Did you see who Sting had brought in? That girl that was at dinner?"

"Yeah, another one of his fangirls." 

"No, apparently she fell onto a shingled roof and was hurt pretty badly. I heard from Yukino that she didn't get hurt as bad as you would expect someone her size too." Iris toned out the voices, tying the ribbon off securely on to the shorts, moving on to changing into her shirt- She almost forgot to dry her hair a bit more first. She grabbed the towel and bent her head forward, dark blue hair flopping with the motion. 

"Have you seen her before?"

"I haven't. Which is suspicious because I know everyone in this town, from the eldest senior citizen to the 2-week old baby. Nobody who ever enters here just doesn't go unnoticed by me." Iris towel dried her hair, feeling the towel massage her scalp, softly reminding herself under her breath to comb through her long locks to untangle them before she leaves to sleep for the night. 

"Did you manage to catch a name?"

"I-I think..? I don't know, I think it's foreign..."

"Foreign just spells bigger trouble for us. Spit it out before I go and ask our lovely master myself." She flipped her head back, the scene portraying in the light fixtures above her head, the tattoo that ran down from below her collar bones, down her cleavage, and to her belly button on the single branch with different colored cherry blossoms growing out of the branch, the vibrant and dark colors contrasting with one another like a wonderful piece of candy. 

"...Iris. Her name is Iris." Stated the voices a few moments later of thinking before the door opened, steamrolling out as the warm air hit them. 

Minerva stared at the figure who walked out of the room, watching her carry a bag and a towel, adorning clothes way too large for her, her hair left down and framing the sides of her face as she glanced up to see the talker woman standing there in an authoritative stance. 

"S-Sorry, d-did I take too long?" She asked the two women who had just been gossiping about her not even seconds before. 

"It's okay! We just got here, no need to worry!" Stated the girl standing beside Minerva with a charming smile. Her name not of importance at that very moment. Iris blinked with a small nod, sighing in relief. She bowed at them respectfully, "Thank y-you, and h-have a-a goodnight!" Minerva watched the girl's mannerisms, her blue eyes not reaching her own, and had ducked her head down as she scurried off down the hallway to go to sleep for the night. Minerva rose a brow in confusion

"What is it?" Questioned the young woman beside her, noticing her silence and suspicious eyes. "...She has never been in this town before, not a local or a frequent traveler to the ports, nor does she look like anybody around here..."

"You are overthinking it too much, Minerva. Come on let's go and take a nice warm soak, we both need it after the long job we were on." Minerva was pulled in the girl's locker room, rolling her eyes softly, lips pressed firmly together as she marveled at Iris' dark blue hair. 

_'She is off... It would be best to keep an eye on her, I don't care if she is just another one of Sting's fangirls. His_ 'esteemed guest'. _'_ She remarked to herself, the visual of her exiting the locker room and almost running into them appearing, _'She reeks of Sting's cologne, wearing his clothes... Just how long have they known each other?'_

"Minerva!"

"I'm coming shut your trap!".

**\---**

The strike of lightning startled the young lady awake, eyes popping open wide as she shook like a leaf, the rumble of thunder shaking the ground from the severity of the storm raging on outside. It is closed her eyes, holding her head in her hands in attempts to block out the loud crashes, the unnerving feeling at the pit of her stomach, and in doing so with her panic- She uncontrollably released distressing signals to the guild master a few doors down from her own, awaking him with the urge to go and see her, to hold and comfort her. 

For a bit he ignored it, classifying it as an aftereffect from the dream he was having about Iris, the fantasy that his mind had built from the unconsciousness of his brain. 

But it grew worse, the ache, the need to go and see her, he didn't know where this overwhelming feeling was stemming from because it surely couldn't have been from just a mere dream- It irked him, and with another crash of thunder embracing him and the guild- He got out of bed, leaving Lector to sleep like a log peacefully on his own bed. He slipped on a hoodie, not wanting to parade around fully shirtless in the hallway.

Out he went and down the hall, Iris' scent getting stronger the closer he got to her room, along with the urge amplifying up to the peak that he felt like his skin was on fire, and if he didn't hold her soon, he would combust from the inside out. 

He softly knocked on the door, mumbling to himself about the time he briefly saw on his alarm clock, knowing that she was asleep at this time, her body needed the rest to heal faster. 

It took a few minutes of him knocking every once in a while, the crashes of thunder and flashes of lightning making it hard for both parties to hear, no matter how good their hearing was. 

Sting did hear the soft click from the door unlocking, and then Iris opened the door halfway open, peeking her head around to see who it was. She was trembling in fear of the storm. 

"You okay..-?" Sting didn't get to say her name when one of the loudest thunder rumbles ripped through the atmosphere, shaking the guild and scaring Iris more than she already was, instinctively latching onto Sting, a flash of her mother passed through her vision of memories, knowing how she would stay with her, hold her and secure her, keep her hidden away from the storm that was continuously brewing. Sting wrapped his arms around her, his long arms encapsulating her into his chest as he bared his fangs at the storm, the smell of lavender and plum blossoms filling his nose. The two didn't speak and didn't feel the need to as Sting picked Iris up, letting her snuggle up into him, burying her face into his neck, inhaling his scent, shoulders relaxing at the smell of him. 

The door was nudged close by Sting's foot, reminding himself to lock it when he placed Iris on the bed. 

He set her down, ready to go back and lock the door when she gripped ahold of his arm, halting him. 

He looked down at her and once the sight of her glassy eyes filled with tears reached him- He couldn't leave her alone. 

"I'm just going to lock the door and then I will be right back over, okay? I won't leave you." He told her in a comforting whisper, glad that in the moment that she was able to hear what he said. And thought nothing of it. Quickly walked back over to the door, flipped the lock, then walked back over. 

He helped her back into bed first, mindful of where Lina was sleeping peacefully, having always since she was hatched from the egg to sleep through basically anything. And then when she was in and under the blankets, Sting pulled the hoodie off of his body, laying it down at the foot of the bed before crawling in himself behind Iris, pulling the covers over both of them. 

Iris felt him wrap his arms around her, pressing her back flush to his chest, acting like the big spoon to her with the feeling of him settling more into the comforts of the bed, his nose buried into the back of her neck, her scent calming him down. 

Iris felt a little uncomfortable with him holding her like this at first. It felt too- intimate, close, the two had only known each other for a day, and yet here they were cuddling? 

Thunder roared, Iris, jumping in his arms enough to startle Sting. "You are okay, I'm right here. I got you, Iris." Iris nodded softly with a small quiver of her lower lip, finding it really sad of all things to be afraid of, it had to be thunder and lightning. 

This sparked a small idea in her calculative mind- a cover-up for her true self. 

Iris turned around in Sting's arms, feeling him shift his own weight to let her lay on her right side more comfortably. She faced him, ocean blue meeting dark deep blue, almost black. The connected eye contact ignited that feeling in their chests again, the connection strengthening. 

Iris blushed timidly as she looked away, instead of cuddling more into Sting's body, resting her head under his chin. "I-I'm s-s-sorry..."

"No need to be... You can't control what you fear." Sting told her softly and tenderly, moving his hand up to cradle the back of her head. 

"B-But-"

"No buts. It's time to rest, you need your sleep." Sting fought with himself internally to not give in to his wishes and kiss her forehead to wish her goodnight. 

"It... It's not j-just that... I am- I am really dumb and stupid for l-letting it hinders me." Sting blinked, glancing down as he felt her jolt when a flash of lightning momentarily interrupted her. 

"You aren't dumb nor stupid-"

"Have you ever heard of many wizards who are afraid of what they practice?" She rushed out all in one breath, not wanting to stutter. 

"I mean dark wizards-" He giggled at the cute look that crossed her face at his joke. "N-No!"

"I'm just joking, don't worry. I know that you aren't close to being anything like that." He felt the good in her, he felt that he could trust her. The obligation to lay down his life for her if it meant she could live. _'My god am I smitten to the point of it being creepy.'_ He thought. 

"I... I can do magic."

"...What kind?"

"L-Lightning.."

"Okay, now I know what you mean." He replied in earnest, pulling his head back to get a better look at her face. Her eyes journeyed across his face, noting the smallest beauty mark that he had on his cheek, close to the cheekbone under his left eye. She found it really cute. 

"I... I can't do it, the magic. I'm- I'm afraid to." 

"When was the last time you tried?" He questions her with a curious tilt of his head, unknowingly running his fingers through her hair and down her scalp. Iris didn't comment on the affection he was showing her. 

"Years ago... The first t-time I tried, I was sent fl-flying back into a creek. It took my mom a half hour to find me b-because I-I was launched very far." Sting frowned, knowing what could possibly be happening in her body at that moment. All of that magic building up inside of her... With no release? She could end up being a very powerful wizard, or a self-destructing bomb. 

He didn't want the latter to happen to her. 

"We can help you with your fear, and your magic. I promise you that. Alright?" Iris softly nods, her blue eyes shifting up into his eyes before looking down, cheeks tinted pink. The two fell into silence, with the storm raging on outside, Sting holding her close to him, his cheek resting on the side of her head, feeling her arms bundled up to her chest. 

_"...Lemon..."_ She aired the soft whisper as she fell into sleep minutes later, not realizing she even uttered the word. But Sting heard it and grinned, his heart soaring at the idea that she may not have been a dragon slayer like he was- But she did feel the connection, and enjoyed his presence like he was enjoying hers. 

**_To Be continued_ **


	3. Chapter 3

The light had shined in through the windows of the guildhall, the hustle and bustle of wizards inside of it grabbing their breakfasts before hauling ass out of the place to go on their jobs for the day to scrounge up some jewels. Their income wavering during these times of uncertainty. 

Iris entered the hall, still rubbing the sleep crusties out of her eyes, yawning into her arm, having put on the clothes she wore yesterday after Yukino had washed them for her. She didn't exactly want to parade around in Sting's clothes today. 

Eyes fell on her as she walked down the aisles, looking around for the dark grey exceed who had must have woken up before she did and left already. Sting also wasn't present when she woke up. 

"That was quite a storm last night, I was surprised I was able to fall asleep." Stated a voice Iris didn't recognize, which was the usual as she didn't know any of these people. 

"Morning Iris!" Yukino greeted Iris once she had reached the bar, the white-haired girl already sitting, patting the seat beside her. Iris smiled softly at her, noticing the short dress she was wearing that day with hiking boots that reached to her knees. It looked really great on her and admired her for being able to be comfortable in her own skin to wear something like that. 

"Morning," Iris answered simply as she sat down on the barstool. 

"Frederich, mind getting some breakfast for Iris here?" Yukino asked the man behind the bar. The man nodded. 

"Ah n-no I'm okay, no need t-to t-trouble-" Yukino shushes her, resting her hand on Iris's shoulder. "It's okay, the food is free here during certain hours." 

"Yeah no worries little lady, I don't mind scooping you up some breakfast." Stated Frederich with a wink. Yukino giggled at Iris looking down at her lap bashfully, taken aback from the natural flirt that was the barkeeper. 

Frederich left the two to grab Iris breakfast, letting Yukino explain. "He didn't mean anything by it, he is naturally flirty like that." She told her with a comforting smile. 

"O-Okay." Iris shakes her head, looking to Yukino. "H-Have you seen L-Lina?"

"She was here earlier. She left with Lector and Frosch a bit ago, Rogue is watching after them." The blue-haired girl sighs in relief. "I'm glad..."

"Do you have anywhere, in particular, you want to go to for clothes shopping?" Yukino asks her. Iris shrugs, "I-I'm not really...familiar with the town."

"Okay, then we can just go to them all to see what they have in stock." Yukino felt quite comfortable around the shy girl, not really minding being the one to carry on the conversation. 

"D-Do you know where Sting is?"

"In his office, I think. I don't think he ate yet." Yukino replied, brows furrowed as she thought back to where she saw him this morning. He usually got up earlier than the rest to get work done earlier in the day. 

"Does he, usually eat breakfast?"

"I know that he eats a lot for lunch so I guess not." Frederich sets a plate down in front of Iris, the mini sausages and eggs and toast looking glamorous. 

"Um... Uh Mr. F-Frederich, do you mind m-making another plate..?"

"Sure thing little lady, I will be right back with it." Frederich walks away again to grab another. Yukino arches her brow, "What do you need another plate for?"

"F-For S-Sting... He needs to eat." Was Iris's short answer before Frederich came hustling back. Iris grabbed both plates after hopping off of the barstool. Yukino didn't get another word in as Iris walked off, sending her a brief, 'see you later' smile. 

_**\---** _

Sting sat in his office, yawning tiredly with dark circles under his eyes despite last night being one of the best nights of sleep he has gotten in a while. He felt mentally drained to the point of his battery being below -0. He couldn't wait to finish sorting through all of these papers for the day, that way he will have more free time this upcoming weekend. 

_'More time to spend with Iris..'_ He thought to himself, feeling his cheeks and neck warm-up at the thought of them cuddling throughout the night, and the sight he had woken up to. Her cute face, freckles dotting across her skin, pieces of hair in her face from sleeping, bits of drool clinging to the corner of her mouth- He shakes his head, mentally screaming at the thought. _'She is too cute for me...'_ He takes a heavy breath in when a knock on the outside of the door interrupts the sleeping image of Iris he was recalling. 

"Come in." He sounded out softly, deciding to go back to paying attention to the papers on his desk. 'Get back on track- Lavender?' He furrowed his brows at the smell, glancing up to see Iris standing in the doorway with the two plates in both hands. 

"U-Um m-morning." She was going to be the death of him. One way or another. 

"Morning, Hood. Did you sleep well?" He asks her, watching her nod as she walks further into the room. Sting narrows his eyes at the sight of her slightly stumbling on her left side. He gets up from his seat and is by her side in a few moments, taking the plate she was holding. 

"You okay? You are stumbling."

"I-I'm fine. Just a childhood injury." She told him with an awkward smile. 

"You sure? You could have hurt it more from yesterday-" She rests her hand on his arm, nodding up at him. "I'm sure." Sting didn't look like he fully believed her, not wanting her to lie about her well-being, then again why would she lie about that? It wasn't like he has watched her walk thousands of times before. It seemed to be something she hid quite well, and only noticed because of the plates she was holding with breakfast foods on them- Wait she brought him breakfast-

"You.. You brought me breakfast?" He asks her in shock, not expecting the kind gesture. Iris hurriedly nods her head, "Y-Yeah! Y-Y-Yukino told me that, that you have been in here all morning s..so I figured that you didn't eat yet." Iris was growing more flustered with every passing word, igniting butterflies to erupt in Sting's stomach, the urge to kiss her hitting him head-on. _'Ah damn it, Iris...'_ He struggled to smile, as all he wanted to do at that moment was embrace her and plant his lips onto hers. 

"Thank you. I really appreciate the thought." _'Don't yell out your underlying love to her, Sting. She wouldn't understand, she has literally known you for a day!'_ He scolded himself as he straightened out his back, feeling stiff. 

Iris smiled at him shyly. "Do you want to sit down and eat with me? I can clear the table off for us." Sting asked her. Iris nodded, feeling herself relax. 

The two cleared off the table, stacking the finished and unfinished papers in separate piles on one side of the desk before the plates were sat down. Sting grabbed a hold of a seat he had in the corner of the room, placing it in next to his seat for her to sit. 

Iris sat down, waiting until Sting was seated. Iris clasps her hands together, closing her eyes. 

"Thank you for the food..." She whispers under her breath, not noticing the affectionate stare she was receiving from beside her. 

**\---**

"She brought me breakfast Rogue, _BREAKFAST!_ " Rogue sat on the floor of Sting's office, playing a board game with Lector and Frosch, as Lina had left with Yukino and Iris for clothes shopping. 

"Yes yes, people do that."

"She was way too cute, my god. Why is this so.. So... Fuck man."

"Overwhelming?"

"Yeah! That! I never thought it was going to be like this."

"You are stupid for thinking that way." Sting sends him a pointed look. "I mean, in terms of it being a strong connection. Like come on, I saw how you were during those first days of meeting Yukino."

"And you figured it wasn't that bad."

"No, I figured since I was more of an emotional person it would be worse. But not this worse! Like Rogue, when we were eating I was planning on spending every meal with her for the rest of my life! Felt the urges to cook for her and ask her what she wanted for lunch." Rogue arches a brow, "Okay man, that isn't normal. Those thoughts dont come until a month later." He wondered why Sting was feeling so many things at once when it came to her. He worried how things would end up being like weeks later, hell months later. 

He didn't want Sting to have a sudden outburst of emotion and declare his undying love for her and his desire to marry her or whatever- And then scare her away and make those feelings worse. 

Rogue was worrying about his best friend profusely, every time he had mentioned Iris, his feelings about her just seemed to get stronger. 

"Being around her is making you feel worse, but not being near her is making you feel-"

"-horrible. I feel like a damn lovesick puppy right now waiting for its owner to return from work." Stated Sting in frustration. 

"I will do my best to figure out what's going on with you. I don't think Iris is feeling as bad as you are, just the initial spark and connection. Besides, I don't even think she would know what mates are."

"She isn't a dragon slayer, which is fine I don't care if she is or not- But she is a wizard. She told me that last night."

"And you are a total idiot for staying with her last night." Rogue picked at him, watching the blond roll his eyes. "I felt her emotions, how terrified she was because of the storm. My instincts wouldn't shut up about going to her room to protect or comfort her until I finally had her in my arms."

"And she didn't think it was weird?"

"I don't think. I mean, she did ask me to stay, she latched onto me, a man she has barely known for a full day, to seek comfort."

"Her own instincts must have kicked in or something."

"Did something like that ever happen for you two?"

"I don't think. Like what you are telling me is pretty damn extreme Sting."

"I know I know just-"

"You love her~" Lector buts in to tease the dragon slayer as he moved three spaces forward, passing Frosch's little character. 

"Aww, you passed me!" Frosch whined in dismay. 

"I... I don't want to feel this way. I want to love her at my own pace, ya know? I want to fall in love with her with my heart, not by my instincts of desperation for her to be mine." He ignores the exceed teasing, continuing his rant.

"I totally get that. Especially when you know the reason why you are feeling this way. Your own pace. And you want the same for her."

"I'm glad that... She isn't a dragon slayer like us, or else by now so many others things could have happened." Sting feels his face heat up just thinking about it. 

"Dude, not in front of the children," Rogue tells him jokingly. "I will smack you so hard your dad will feel it up in dragon heaven." Rogue snorts, "Ha, if there even is one.".

**\---**

Iris returned to the guild an hour later, tired out of her mind after struggling to try on so many clothes at once. Once or twice during her time in the changing room, Yukino almost walked in to bring her more clothes to try on- In which she would have a hard time explaining why she had a tattoo going down the middle of her chest. 

She knew in this country tattoos weren't a taboo or anything- It just didn't fit her dynamic, how everyone else perceives her to be. She wouldn't know how to answer anyone while under the pressure of their curiosity. 

Yukino did her best in trying to hand her good clothing that had really soft fabrics and wasn't see-through- But that was hard because a lot of it was pricey and Iris wasn't planning on spending all of the guild master's money on something like clothes. 

She kept the styles and tastes simple, not wanting to draw attention to herself more than she already has, along with the more revealing areas many of the items that the stores carried. 

Laying on the bed on her stomach, cheek pressed up against the comfortable mattress- She did her best to not fall asleep, no matter how much the fatigue beckoned her closer and closer to unconsciousness. 

As her eyes were set to a close- She felt the sudden rumble in her being, shaking her back into consciousness, sitting up abruptly, ears perking up as her hearing magnified tenfold. 

"...Mum?" She sniffed the air, searching for the scent of her mother. 

Getting off of the bed, she neared the window, opening it and feeling the breeze blow in. Her nose kept scrunching up as she sniffed, searching for her scent. 

"W-Where are you, Mum?" She questioned shakily, leaning further into the open window, eyes scanning down at the street and up into the sky, trying to spot the woman who raised her. 

"Mum!" She heard her again, and yet it was too far away. She was too far away to be seen, to be smelled, to be heard. And yet with all of her amplified senses, nothing could indicate it was her mother trying to connect with her. 

She was ready to give up until she heard the flapping of wings, strong and wide, her blankets during the cold nights up in the mountains, in the crystal caverns that riddled the territory she grew up in, the sparking of wildlife, rushing of the water from the stream they had drunk from and she bathed in- She reached out, until she was snapped out of the image, pulled away from the sight of the shadow looming over the guildhall. 

"Iris!" She was encompassed into the scent of lemon and salt, the burning itch within her mind dissipating as she awakes into fruition, conscious enough to realize that the arms currently wrapped around her were of Sting. Listening to his haggard breathing, his erratic pump of blood into his hearts, clammy skin, and sweat rolling down his skin. 

"S-Stin-..?" Her words died down as she slightly pulled away from his embrace to look up at him, watching his dark eyes scour hers before sighing in relief. 

"What were you doing? I kept calling you but you n-never responded and then you climbed up and I thought that you were going to-" Iris reached up, placing her hand on his forehead, feeling the warmth that came with it from him getting all worked up. 

"I..I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep..." She apologized to him as she held his gaze. He furrowed his brows, wondering how she would have been able to go to the window if she was asleep- Oh. 

"You sleepwalk?" Iris shrugs, "Not for a long time, I h-haven't d-done it in so long." Sting kept his grip on her, shutting the window and clicking it to lock again, sighing in relief that he managed to walk in on time. He had seen Yukino down at the job board and talked to her for a little bit when she had told him Iris had gone to her room to put her new clothes away. He had initially come up to check on her. (And to also see what she had picked out for herself, which made him excited to see that the money he made was spent by her.) 

"It isn't good for you to sleepwalk, especially being in a city like this- I will see about getting you something to help with it."

"N-no! It's fine, I-I'm used to it."

"Iris, you almost jumped from four stories high."

"A-Almost.." She stuttered as she sasses him, looking away from his eyes to look at the bags of clothes she had left on the desk for her to sort through and put away. He quirked a brow, having not heard her sass him or anyone before. She was capable of sass? This inwardly made him grin in amusement. 

"My point still stands I- We can't have you doing anything dangerous or getting yourself into dangerous situations because you were sleepwalking." Iris looked back to him with a small nod, understanding his worry about her well-being. 

"I will leave you to finish putting clothes away, lunch is down there if you want to eat, just ask Fred and he will give you a plate." Iris nods then bows her head. 

"I ap-p-pologize for making y-you worry... Thank you for helping m-me..." Sting moved his hand up to cradle her cheek, having her stare back up at him. He could feel his cheeks warm-up at the gesture he did. 

"No need to apologize, I'm just glad that you are okay and safe." He told her with a smile before finally letting her go. 

"I won't be in the office for the rest of the day, so if you need anything please come and find me, okay?" Iris nodded, watching him leave as she gives him a small thumbs up when he glances back at her. 

_**To Be continued** _


	4. Chapter 4

At the expanse of their wares- Sting had contacted someone to help Iris with her fear of magic that she weld, to get over it, and grow past that faze into order to get stronger. 

He would have preferred if he would do it, but after handling some advice from Yukino and Rogue- It would be best to learn from someone who actually knows how to wield her specific type of magic. Lightning Magic. 

It had been a couple of days and took some persuading and promises- But Laxus Dream now stood in the open field, waiting for Iris and Rogue to arrive, as Sting had suddenly had to leave for Guild Master business. 

Iris could feel her hands shaking as she walked alongside Rogue to the open field, needing plenty of room for something like lightning magic, along with nothing flammable nearby. 

Iris looked to the left is her, seeing Rogue's profile looking straight ahead, his lips firmly pressed together. Eyebrows creased. 

"A-Are you worried about Frosch?" Questions Iris, knowing that neither of them wanted any of them exceeds to around incase Iris's lightning goes astray. They were left in Yukino's care. Lector having gone with Sting. 

"A bit. He isn't very good with me not being around him for long periods of time."

"I'm sorry... F-For-"

"Stop right there, Iris. You are fine. Frosch needs to learn to be without me anyway, as I can't always be with him." Rogue told her as he interrupted her mini self-doubt session. He rested his hand on her shoulder, watching the girl bite her bottom lip nervously. "Y-You s-sure?" He nods before sniffing the air, smelling Laxus being nearby. 

"Come on we are almost there." He leads Iris the rest of the way, gently grabbing ahold of her hand when he notices that she is severely shaking, feeling the need to comfort her since Sting wasn't around, nor was Yukino. 

Laxus watched the dark raven haired dragon slayer come into view first, and then a dark blue haired wizard wearing a zip-up hoodie walking a little behind him, tightly holding onto his hand as she shook like a leaf. Laxus sighs heavily, knowing how well this session is going to be. And it won't be very good.

"You the one I'm going to be teaching?" Asked Laxus with a gruff voice, watching her timidly look up at him with a small nod. He sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. 

"Sting is lucky that I didn't have anything to do today." 

"We really appreciate it. We would have taught her, but since you two use the same magic, it works better."

"I get it, I get it- Now, your name girl?" Laxus asked her as he unfolded his arms. 

"Iris." She muttered out. He arched a break, cracking his fingers. "Speak up, Blue."

"I-Iris!" She stuttered out as she raised her voice an octave. Laxus grinned in triumph, electricity building around him. Iris jumped back at the sight, clutching onto Rogue as she hid behind him. Rogue glanced at her and then back at Laxus, knowing that she had to face her fear. 

"Iris, you can do this. Okay? I believe in you, we all do. I will be only a few feet away from you if it gets too much, okay?" Rogue told her, gently prying her hands off of him. Iris looked up at him, lips quivering and eyes watering, not wanting to be there at the moment. She thought she could do this, that she couldn't handle the fear. And yet here she stood, cowering away from the lights. 

Rogue walks away, off to the side, making sure he was out of the zone in case any stray electricity were to head his way. 

Laxus brought one arm forward, clutching his fist tightly as he grinned, the light reflecting in his eyes. "Usually wizards are semi-invulnerable to an element, whether it be fire, water, or lightning. Let's see how much you can take, Iris." A flurry of lightning shot out at her with a resounding boom, scaring her shitless, shaking, beginning to breathe heavily. The lightning hits her, right into her chest. She is brought to her knees in pain, repeating to herself in her head not to consume it, not to give away to who she truly was. She had to take the pain if she wanted to get through this. 

Iris didn't scream or cry out in pain, dealing with it silently and on her own terms, pushing through it. 

_"Rebound it, Iris. You are more than capable of this feat."_ She heard the words of her mother echo in her mind, reminding her that even though she couldn't see her, couldn't hug her, speak to her- Her lessons in her memories were still present. 

Her legs wobbled as she pushed herself up, whimpering when the constant electricity attacking her system seemed to be upped in voltage. 

"Laxus that's enough! I don't think Iris can-" Laxus shot Rogue a warning glare, warning him to not interrupt the lesson, "She stood right back up, she is fine! Don't underestimate ones who wield lightning as their weapon!" Stated Laxus, returning his attention back to the girl before him. 

She panted, focusing on the currents in her body, where they were being directed, passing through, the shockwaves at the bottom of her feet and the popping next to her ears- She felt it, the surge, the outpour. 

Removing her hands slowly and shakily from where she had clutched them to her chest- She brought them forward, and a magnificent blue surrounded the tips of her fingertips before shooting out as she redirected Laxus's yellow lightning back to him. 

Laxus stopped his onslaught, shocked as he dodged her lightning with a roll to the side. "Hell yeah!" He praised, eyes wide and brows arched with a wide smirk. Rogue rushed over to Iris when she fell onto her knees again, remnants of blue electricity dancing on her skin. 

"You okay?" Rogue went to touch her when a hand slapped his own away, Laxus having made his way towards them at the speed of light, crouched down in front of her. He rested his hands on her shoulders, not minding the bits and pieces of shocks he was getting. 

"You did well. You really surprised me there, not many people can redirect my lightning like that." He told her, gently pulling down her hood to ruffle up her hair as if she was a little kid. Iris glanced up, still breathing heavily as she processed what she managed to accomplish that day, and smiled. 

**\---**

Iris sharply turned her head, scaring Lina who stood in front of her on the table they were at. 

"Woah! You okay?" Iris nodded with a small wince. "Y-Yeah... Just still feeling t-t-the aftershocks fr-from training." She told her, not wanting to worry her. Lina placed her paw on Iris's chin, patting it. "I heard from Rogue that you did really well today. All of us were worried about how you would do." She blinked, tilting her head, "Why?"

"From what I heard, Laxus is generally not a very good person. A hardheaded asshole." Iris thought back to how Laxus treated her, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth in thought. "He didn't r-really seem that way to me."

"You see the good in everyone, so I ain't surprised." Lina patted her chin once more before her attention was directed to the new company at the table. Iris was too lost in her thoughts to notice the bench being weighed down as Sting sat down next to her, still thinking about how gentle Laxus treated her, and pushed her to her limits and would stop when he felt that she couldn't take it anymore. He seemed to her like a good teacher. 

"You feeling okay? Heard from Rogue that Laxus didn't hold back for you." He felt her jump, bumping into his arm as her head whipped around to look up at him, not expecting him to be so close to her. A faint blush appearing on her cheeks. She quickly averted her gaze, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. 

"Yeah... I'm okay." She suddenly felt him grab ahold of her hand, moving it away from her neck before pulling her hood down, seeing the veins of lightning that were left behind from the training. She knew that they would fade over time, however, Sting didn't, pursing his lips in thoughts and brows arch in anger. 

"You aren't okay if these are on you-" She removed her hand from his, shifting down the bench away from him to give them more space. Lina watched the exchange with thoughtful piercing eyes, seeing the two's expressions. Reading both of them like a book who had their glossary on the front cover. 

"I'm-I'm-I'm-" Iris had to choke down her words, feeling herself getting warm in annoyance at her speech. She shakes her head, taking a deep breath in before returning her attention back to Sting. The blond patiently waiting for her to say what she wanted to. 

"Fine. I am fine." She drawled out, emphasizing her point. "These will go a-away. It-It is just from magic build-build-build-build, fungus." She cursed in her own way, not noticing Sting's smile in amusement. He never heard her curse before since she arrived, and still found it cute when she would use other words in place of curses. 

"Build up. I get what you are saying. Just- I worry about you okay?" He blurted out the last sentence, his cheeks and ears warming up. Lina placed a paw over her mouth to cover her smirk, looking away. 

"Sting." The two were interrupted by Minerva who had approached them from behind, garnering all three's attention. Iris stared up at Minerva, slightly intimidated by the taller and older woman. She wouldn't want to be at the other end of the blade if she was the one holding it. Figuratively, and literally. 

"Can we speak privately for a moment?" Minerva urged her head over to behind the bar. Sting narrowed his eyes but reluctantly got up from his seat. Minerva began walking, leaving Sting to rest his hand on top of Iris's head, sending her a quick reassuring smile. 

"Before I go, I heard that there was going to be another storm tonight. Do you want me to stay with you again?" He asks her as he leaned forward down to her ear, that way no one else could hear what he just asked her. Iris held back her shudder from feeling his breath on her ear, softly nodding. 

"...If it isn't a problem w-w-with y-you-" Sting shakes his head, "Never will be." He told her affectionately before leaving her to go and speak with Minerva. 

Minerva tapped her foot against the ground as he entered the back of the bar, seeing that a few others were currently present. People that he trusted the most. 

"I'm going to take a guess that a turf war is ensuing-" Sting made a half-hearted guess, slightly annoyed that his time with Iris was interrupted. Especially if it was something as stupid and unmeaningful as that. Minerva frowned, pointedly glaring at the guild master. "No. It isn't. Orga, show him what was posted." Sting arched a brow as the old woman approached before having him a letter. A black and red seal has already been broken.  
  
He turned it over, eyebrows raising in surprise when he saw who it was addressed to- And the name that accompanied it.  
  
"Rainbaut-?"  
  
"She lied about not having a last name. We already called the council's library to look for records on her under the ruse of her being a new member- came up empty." Stated Minerva pointedly. _'Iris Rainbaut...'_ Sting thought, noting to himself the neat handwriting before turning it back over to pull the letter out to read it.  
  
 _ **-**  
To Iris Rainbaut,_  
  
 _We see that you have seemed refuge at the Sabertooth guild, that your journey has led you back to Fiore after many years. May you have a wonderful stay, that you drink healthily and eat your fill. Because as soon as the clock strikes three at the quarter of the nexus- You shall be with us again._  
  
 _With kind regards, a wonderful friend._

**_-_ **

"I don't know if we should tell her that this letter came for her," Yukino spoke out. Rogue nodded, agreeing with her. "It's very suspicious how they addressed her, and the wordplay in it was way too formal for a regular friend-"  
  
"-And how do they know that she is here?" Sting placed the letter back into the envelope.  
  
"What could we do? It isn't like they threatened her-" Orga began but was caught off by Sting, "The letter smells of night wither. Poison." Orga squealed, doing a short half way spin in fear. "Oh my god! Poison- I am going to di-"  
  
"Shut up Orga! You aren't going to die." Sting shakes his head, "She won't. But you can get really sick from it if you are in contact with it for too long. It serves as a warning. Whoever sent this to her- Isn't her 'wonderful friend' as they claim to be." Sting felt his body grow hot in agitation, tossing the envelope onto the table before leaning down on it with arms outstretched.  
  
"We need to tell her. We can't keep this under her nose. They know where she is, and were bold enough to pin it to our front door! Lethal poison or not, it is still a threat." Yukino stated, having turned around after some contemplation. Rogue seemed to nod along with her words before he too spoke up.  
  
"It leads me to wonder why they addressed her as, _'Iris Rainbaut'_. I wouldn't think she would lie about something as simple as her last name."  
  
"Rogue that leads to another question. Why wasn't she registered into the magic system? Or any citizen system at all? She doesn't exist in Fiore!" Yukino snapped her fingers, an idea sparking.  
  
"No, no she doesn't! But maybe she is from another country. Iris doesn't know where anything is here, inside the town, or anything geographically in Fiore.", "So she is a foreigner then?" Minerva says sighing heavily, running a hand through her hair. "She doesn't speak foreign."  
  
"Then it's a name issue. Iris isn't her real name-"  
  
"Stop." Sting's voice halted any further conversation, heads whipping to him. His gaze sent shivers down Minerva's spine, the look he gave them all was poison itself. He didn't look happy or pleased. Pissed off.  
  
"Iris is too timid and shy to lie, she would have a harder time lying than saying the truth. When she first initially told me her name, it was with confidence and assurance that yes, it was indeed her name."  
  
"Then we shouldn't believe the letter?"  
  
"I hate having to say this but- for now, let me handle it." Sting turned and left the back, leaving the four behind. Minerva scoffed, annoyed with how uptight Sting displayed himself to be at that moment. 

"We shouldn't trust this Iris, or whatever her true name is. This could bring harm to the guild-"

"Stop Minerva. Iris isn't a bad person, don't turn this onto her. She has only been here a couple of days, and I highly doubt that you have sat down with her enough to speak with her in order to make that judgment." Stated Yukino curtly before gripping ahold of her mate's arm and walking out of the room, dragging him with her. 

Rogue tugged on her hand, yielding her annoyance as he made her turn towards him, resting his hands on the sides of her arms. "Hey, what is with this sudden aggression?"

"Iris is in danger and all that Minerva could think about it is the damn guild! I hate her so much for thinking about a physical object over a human being-!" Rogue dips down, cutting her off with a kiss, silencing her frustration and anger. Yukino tenses up, wide-eyed, not used to Rogue being this forward in public. Behind closed doors, she knew that he was needy, but in public, he would only give her a slight brush of his arm if he was standing next to her, or a kind smile that reflected in his eyes. 

He pulls away, his hands moving up to cradle her head, his fingers moving her bangs away from her forehead to plant a small kiss there. "Everything is going to be fine. Sting and she are well, you know what. Their connection is stronger than when we first met. Whatever Iris isn't telling us- He will get it out of her if it means her safety is in jeopardy." He kept his voice down, making sure that only Yukino could hear his soft and reassuring words. Yukino nods slowly, placing her hands over his own before leaning up to peck his lips and then snuggle into his neck. Rogue sighs heavily as he feels himself relax at her affection, burying his nose into her short hair. 

Left with uncertainty and worry- the young bachelor made his way over to Iris, falling short in his long strides filled with haste when he saw that she was smiling, the corners of her eyes crinkled as she listened to what the exceeds were talking about. Frosch and Lector must have approached her shortly after he left with Minerva-

He shakes his head, clutching onto the envelope in his pocket. He knew that he couldn't keep it on him for more than an hour if he didn't want to risk getting sick. He had too much to do, important things to deal with. 

Iris was _important._

He walked the rest of the way over, leaning down before speaking to catch Iris's attention, watching her flinch at the sound of his voice. 

"Need to steal Hood for a moment, that fine with you guys?"

"Oh come on Sting-Kun! I haven't finished telling her all about how you beat up those giants-" Lector began with a huff, "-You can't steal her away now!" 

"Yes, I can," Sting told him with a playful smirk at his companion, glancing at Iris to see that her smile had slightly faded, but was still present. He tore his gaze away from her lips, ears tinting pink, and hoped that Lector didn't notice and would make fun of him for getting embarrassed. 

"W-What do you need?" Questions Iris with a curious tilt of her head. 

"Something that we need to speak about alone if that is alright."

"Oooo~ Sting-Kun has a love letter confess-" _'Damn he did notice the blush._ ' Iris' cheeks warmed up at Lector's teasing before hearing him squeak in fear at the look Sting sent him. He offered a hand to Iris, helping her out of her seat before leading her away. Lina quirked a brow, sharing a glance with Lector. 

"Should we invest in earplugs?"

"I believe that would be best."

"Oh! Are we going to listen to music?!" Asked Frosch. 

"No!" Replied the maroon and grey exceeds. 

_**To Be continued** _


	5. Chapter 5

Iris worried over what Sting wanted to speak with her about, how secluded it was, how he took her away from Lina to just speak with her. What did Minerva say to him? Was she being kicked out? She knew it was too good to be true, he actually needed the money, he couldn't waste food or a bed over her. Profits, only profits. No kind hearts and good morality. Out on the road again sooner than she planned. 

Would he give her a last meal? Like she was a death row inmate? How much would she need to eat from the meal to last weeks without food? How much could she take and steal for Lina? 

Sting closed the door behind them. Not expecting to hear Iris's voice, startling him with how she sounded, and the severity of her conclusion. 

"When do you want us to leave?" Sting blinked in confusion, brows drawing together. Iris stared up at him, and for the first time since he met her- He saw lightning dancing in the blue, he believed he would have seen fire, but no lightning, true to the nature of her magic. Did she expect him to kick her out? That her shot of lightning was done and over with, leaving only burning fields and forests? 

Sting didn't answer right away, too much in shock that she would think that. Iris took this opportunity to continue, Sting listening to her words intensely. 

"I get it. I'm not giving any money to your guild. You don't have any funds to spare anymore. Tell me when you want us gone and we will-" Sting approaches her suddenly, backing her up into the door, bracing the back of her head with his hand, glowering down at her. Iris' heart rate raised up, feeling her legs begin to shake in fear, seeing the expression on his face, the emotion in his eyes. She was fearful of it. 

Sting didn't mean to scare her, that was the last thing he wanted to do, but listening to her tell him, assuming that he wanted her to leave, to leave him- Snapped his senses in half, and wanted to be as close as possible to her, possessive over her form. 

"I'm not kicking you out."

"B-But t-the-then wh-wh-why-?" Iris couldn't keep her words straight anymore, the lightning in her eyes dissipating, returning to the normal blue Sting was falling more and more in love with. 

"You are staying here with me. From now on you will be staying in my room, you will be insights of others inside of the guild at all times." He told her urgently before taking his forearm off of the wall to grab the envelope out of his pocket, waving it in front of her face. Iris saw her name written on the back of it and her heart plummeted. Her mouth falls agape, eyes widening, and fear wrenching in her heart.

"What are you hiding from m- us." He corrected himself, not wanting to make this all about him. He watched nose wiggle, scrunching up before her eyes rolled back into her head, knees collapsing under her dead weight as she fainted. Sting threw the envelope to the side, grabbing ahold of her, hoisting her up into his arms. 

"Iris? Iris!"

**-**

_"Iris dear, stray away from the creek. The water levels have risen since the days of rains." She heard the warning from her mother, the formal and sincerity in her voice calming her down as she relived the memory. Her short hair bouncing up and down as she jumped a few times before launching into the sky, reaching her hand out to grab one of the plum blossoms off of a tree branch._

_"Yes, Mumma." She answered as she sailed back down, landing in the tall grass that tickled at her knees. She heard her mother softly 'tsk' at the sight of the overgrown of the valley they were currently occupying._

_"As much as I love nature, the grass will bring only hashes across your delicate skin." She felt her mother wrap her up, pulling her into her, airing a soft giggle as her breath tickled her neck. Iris brought the plum blossom up to the sun, studying the shadows it produced, the highlights in the petals, the colors bouncing off of each other._

_"Mumma, can we get teriyaki again?"_

_"We shall see, little one. It takes a lot of my strength nowadays to revert to a more blending in form." Answered, her voice trailing off into a whisper._

**-**

Iris blearily opened her eyes, tears staining her cheeks and eyes slightly red from the dream she had been thrust into. An old memory of hers that she still to this day held dear to her heart. 

She looked to the left, seeing Sting was sitting there in the chair, holding a piece of paper in his hands. One that didn't smell of night wither. Instead, it smelled of the confines of his office, and yet they weren't present there. 

Iris slowly sat up, catching the blond's attention as he placed the letter down on to the bed and raised his hand, pressing the back of it on her forehead, checking for a temperature. 

"You still don't have a fever..." Iris blinked, remembering that night wither could make people sick. Was he worried that just her short amount of time with it had sent her falling into unconsciousness? 

"I wasn't exposed enough to get sick from it." She answered quietly, seeing the perplexed look on his face as he withdrew his hand from her forehead, letting it fall beside her thigh. 

"You know that it's night wither?" Iris nodded softly, taking a deep breath in, preparing herself for the questions. 

"I'm immune to it. I can't get sick from it after a long time of being next to it." Sting frowned, knowing what it meant. "What happened? Something is wrong. The envelope and letter reeked of it, it was drenched in night wither for a reason." Iris looked away from him, studying her surroundings further. 

"Th- This isn't the room." She referred to the bedroom she and Lina were staying in. Well, _were._

"It's mine. I told you that you are staying in my room until further notice. And, it was closer to get to when you collapsed." That was a lie, Sting was in such a hurried state he ran past her room and into his own. Iris didn't question him, returning her gaze to his. 

"Lina?"

"It's only been an hour since you collapsed, Lina is fine. She is with the others and doesn't know what happened." She sighs in relief, rubbing her right eye when she felt a stray tear try to escape. 

"I'm glad... I don't want to worry her more than I already do."

"You worry her? I would think it would be the other way around." He watched Iris smile in amusement, his heart fluttering at the sight as she calmly explained, not missing a beat- and didn't stutter. He remarked silently to himself that when lightning seemed to be in her eyes- She didn't falter, didn't have trouble speaking. 

"I'm not very good at well- Living. I have been lost for a long time now... She has made it better, reminding me constantly to eat, sleep, or drink. And to smile. She wants me to smile a lot."

"You have a beautiful smile, she loves to see it." _'Cute.'_ He thought watching her cheeks flush red at the compliment. Then he frowned as he processed her first words- Not good at living? What did that mean? 

"Iris, I'm sorry for scaring you earlier." He began placing his hands over hers, "I didn't mean to make you worry about getting kicked out. I have said it before and will say it again. Stay as long as you need it. We are lucky to have you here." He told her with a dashing smile. Iris nodded, pushing the fear of being thrown out into the wilderness again to the back of her mind. 

"The reason why I wanted to talk alone is because of this letter. It was brought to my attention by Minerva. Orga found it posted to the doors of the guild outside." He informed as he reached over to grab the letter, handing it to her. 

He watched her eyes slowly read it, darting and back and forth a couple of times, squinting then re-reading again, muttering under her breath. 

"You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry, just not very good at reading." She stated, glancing up at him. 

"But you do understand what this letter is, right?" She nodded, "I do. I don't know how he found me so quickly." He held down the growl in his throat with a forceful hand at the mention of 'he'. It was a man threatening her. 

"You know him?" Sting fought with himself to not lock her up in his room with him to keep all of the dangers out. 

"Ye-... Yes. I do." Sting wrapped her up in his arms when she looked up from the letter to him, the tears too much to handle. He was practically on the bed with her now, feeling her body shake against his. 

"Who is he?" He couldn't stop the growl that came along with his demanding question. 

"I-If I-If we-we-eere to say. You woul-wouldn't understand." He moved back, grabbing ahold of her face tenderly. Eyes blazing vermillion, staring into her blue ocean waves. 

"Try me.".

**\---**

"Ivan Dreyar hasn't been seen since the Grand Magic Games. Why do you think Fairy Tail would know?" Questions Minerva snapping. Sting didn't flinch at her tone, continuing to scour his office to search for the lacrima. They haven't used in a long while, he hoped he didn't misplace it. 

"It is worth a try, I could at least find out where Raven Tail's guild used to be and go from there, or I could find old master's notes when he would go to the guild meetings, see if there is anything there."

"I highly doubt it. And if Ivan hasn't been seen for months- by anybody, you aren't going to find him within a day." Sting didn't listen to her advice, continuing his search. She rolled her eyes, walking up behind him before smacking him upside the head. 

"And! What if she lied about this too. She lied about her name, that she was in hiding, and-"

"Shut up Minerva. If Ivan is after her, you know it isn't. You saw what happened at that stadium, bore witness to it. He sent a letter straight to the guild covered in night wither! And yeah, sure she may be immune, but that means that he exposed her to it for so long. I don't think any sane person would do that, and then for however long later send her a letter with it as a threat." Sting was getting more agitated, frustrated that he couldn't find Ivan right then and there so he could throttle him. Minerva sighs loudly, throwing her head back. 

"The easiest thing to do here is to send her away. You have only known her for a couple of days. Just give her some money and off she goes-" The loud and threatening growl that escapes the confines of Sting's throat freezes her. Her eyes wide as she slowly turned to look at Sting, seeing the deadly glint in his eyes. 

"She isn't leaving my side. Do not ever suggest such a thing again.".

"Iris, you okay? You have barely touched your plate." Lina asks her, setting her paw down on Iris' shaking hand, to lost in her mind to realize that the exceed even spoke to her. 

She kept the note that Sting had written down in her pocket, a copy of the letter that was sent to her by Ivan, the gripping of her memories from that time during her life-wrenching mind, and soul. 

She remembers the days of screaming, the cries of pain, the torture of physical abuse, and mental strain clear as day in her thoughts. Unable to escape it. She thought she was finally done with him. That it was all over after her mother rescued her... Did he come back, knowing that she was gone now? That Iris didn't have someone to protect her. 

Her body was growing hot, anxiety pumping through her veins, raising her heart rate. 

"Iris?" Called Lina, now float in front-face holding her face. Iris stared right through her, not paying attention. 

Yukino approached, having heard Lina's concerned voice for the past five minutes. "What's wrong?"

"I think Iris is dissociating, Lina muttered with a frown. Yukino glanced around them, trying to spot anyone who was friendly to Iris and would be able to help her. 'Sting is still in a meeting with Minerva. Rogue is somewhere..' Yukino shakes her head, needing to focus on the task at hand.

"Hey, Iris... You doing okay?" Irish merely blinked in reply, too lost in her own past to notice the worrying glares inhabiting on her personality, not how the white-haired girl debated on dragging Sting out of his office for help.

"Iris, there is still your favorite caramel candies left! I hid them in my bag, I can go and get them for you." No reaction.

**-**

_The girl stared beyond the glass she was encased in, far away eyes as she was paralyzed. Unable to move or speak, but to see what was happening before her. What they were doing to her. Witnessing to it all as she was sucked dry of magical energy, stored into little vials, day after day, with only an hour break in between._

_This was one of those days, at the end of it, she was let out, carried by Ivan Dreyar who cooed at her as if she was his own child. When that was far from the truth._

_"You did very well today, little one. Look at how beautiful your eyes are, still glimmering. It seems the regeneration is getting quicker every day." He spoke easily as he dresses her into a fancy dress, adorned with jewels a few hours later when she was no longer paralyzed. She didn't reply, staring right through him as a defense mechanism._

_"We are gonna go on a little trip, you see? A vacation. I hope that you enjoy it and be thankful to me." She didn't enjoy it, nor was thankful. As the new trip, he took her on included electrical shocks to get her adrenaline pumping, pushing her to her limits to see how the magic would react._

_Again and again._

_Boom and boom._

**_Tremors and shakes._ **

**-**

Trapped was how she felt, unable to break free. The letters bringing back the trauma she faced years ago. She should have been past this, her mother was with her every step of the way in her recovery... If she could even call it that.

Wiped from the existence of her mind. With her being gone, nothing could stop it from coming back to her.

"Iris!" She is snapped out of it as the calming scent of lemon and salt enveloped her, strong arms picking her up to hold her close to him. The faraway look in her blue eyes dissipated as she became more aware of her surroundings. Feeling mentally drained, and wanting nothing more than to fall into unconsciousness. 

She kept herself awake by digging her fingernails into her side, the pain keeping her from falling into the terrors of the night.

"You're okay. I'm here." Came his calming words, never stopping from comforting her as he carried her away from the main hall, leaving curious eyes to watch after them, and worried friends behind at the table.

He sat her down on his bed, wiping tears from her eyes as his heart broke at the sight of her... 

"Iris, you are safe, nobody is here to harm you." He cradled her head in his hands, his lips arched into a frown. He didn't how else to comfort her, he didn't want to get too close to her, make her uncomfortable. He had to constantly remind himself that Iris didn't know that they were mates and that this was normal. No matter how much he wanted her to cuddle into him, cling on him, to be pressed against his body and never leave. How much he wanted to shower in kisses to keep her mind off of things, to be with him forever and always.

He closes his eyes, breathing in deeply to calm his possessive state, it wasn't the time to feel sorry for himself. Iris was his best interest in mind, her safety and health should be the most important to him, and it was. He was just still gripping hold of the feelings that came to being connected with her by the soul.

Iris shook as Sting took a seat next to her, grabbing ahold of her left hand, enveloping the limb in his hands, letting her hold onto him, as he did to her.

Minutes passed until Iris felt like she could finally speak, pushing the memory to the back of her mind forcefully, reminding herself that she wasn't there anymore, she wasn't that age, nor was she as small and weak back then.

She was going to be fine, she just needed to breathe.

_**To Be continued** _


	6. Chapter 6

**To breathe** , ~~to see~~ , to taste, _**to hear**_ , and _to feel._

All-natural senses within the human body, and when it came to having a mate, it all went up and under the water, before sprouting out profusely all at once, the increased volume and percentile rate on how you feel emotions and human senses is amplified. Especially when your mate holds a secret, that carries the truth in why you are already imagining a family life with them.

Sting glances to where Iris was asleep on the loveseat in his office as he worked, her hair had fallen in front of her face in the midst of her sleeping state. He was glad to hear no whimpers or crying from her while she slept, the past two days since the letter arrived, and they told Iris about it, she had been having nightmares. And when it came to nightmares, very little sleep she was getting.

The blond wanted to take away her pain for himself to bare, hating to see her hurting like this. She couldn't even rest peacefully when she needed it. It was getting to the point of her being more clumsy than usual as she appeared to be more dazed or lost in thought.

He did manage to contact Fairy Tail, but just as Minerva had told him, they had no idea where Ivan was, even after speaking to Makarov, who was the father of Ivan. And vice versa with Ivan's son, Laxus.

It was stressing him out that he couldn't do more for her, he did his best to find the previous Master's notes about meetings with the other masters, have contacted the new Magic Council but most of their files were destroyed from years past. Ivan appeared, and as quick as he did, he disappeared, not to be seen again by anyone known to be alive and well.

He ruffles up his blond hair in frustration, his canines biting into his bottom lip until he tasted blood, 'Is this really all that I can do? How useless of a mate am I?' To him, a pretty useless one, he was failing to protect her.

He twisted his body before standing out of his chair, stretching out his arms and cracking his neck, his eyes washing over Iris' sleeping form, his heart thumping at how cute she was curled up into a pillow, holding it to her body like a lifeline.

She is approached by him, the loveseat dipping as he softly sits down on it in order to not disturb her slumber, brushing pieces of hair out of her face, her nose scrunching up when she felt the tangles of hair follicles brush over the skin.

 _'I'm sorry, Iris. You deserve a better mate than the one you currently have... In general, you deserve someone better to spend the rest of your life with...'_ When he first made contact with her, first saw her eyes, he felt the spark, the ignition, the emotions, and the imagination of their future together. He was so sure of himself on what laid before them, confident enough to pursue... But now- He didn't know. He was self-conscious, feeling his heart rest in the pit of his stomach, tired eyes watering with tears but never falling.

"I care about you a lot, _Iris..._ " He whispers softly, deep down hoping that she would hear him. Spring up, and tell him the same. She didn't move, resting peacefully.

After a few minutes of silence, Sting glances at the time, deciding it was best to transport her to his- Their room since she had agreed to stay with him for the time being. It eased his worries knowing that at night she was sleeping next to him and that he could help her through the aftermaths of her nightmares.

Carefully pulling her arms away from gripping the pillow and picking her up into his arms, her head lolled into the crook of his neck, before he felt her snuggle into him because of the warmth he radiated. Out of the room he went, and down the hall, soft thuds of his boots hitting against the floorboards. By now everyone else was in their rooms, so he wasn't worried about running into someone that didn't know of their situation, or the tiny minuscule detail of them being mates.

**\---**

_"Mum, why can't I get this right?" The teenager ushered out, staring at the woman across from her, watching her having trouble keeping up with the barrier around her from falling apart just from the sheer volume of gravity being weighed down on it at all sides. The woman chuckles, soft eyes glimmering in amusement._

_"It does indeed keep cracking open like an egg, perhaps you are just not focusing enough."_

_"But I am focusing!" Iris huffs out in complaint._

_"If you are speaking to me, then you aren't, little flower. Now, continue." She states, breaking the barrier easily with a measly blink. Iris stands there, not moving. A brow raises in question, "What is it? Do you have a need for me to explain this to you again? You have been learning this for most of your life now."_

_"I know! That's why it is so frustrating! Why can't I get it already!" Iris yells, her voice breaking before swiftly turning around, hiding tears that were beginning to well up again. The woman frowns, sighing shakily, feeling her daughter's feelings radiate off of her. She walks across to her before pulling her into a hug, knowing that if she shuts down, nothing could be done._

_"For five months you were there, I deeply regret leaving you all alone, Iris. To this day, I think about what could have transpired if I hadn't left... Or if I-I never came back to check on you as I had. How much more could have been done to you, my dear... All of the progress we managed to get, was wiped out. This is why you are back to square one. I'm terribly sorry that you have to start again, but if we don't now-" She stops herself, not wanting to elaborate. Iris was done for the day. The trembling teenager in her arms signaled that, along with the blue flames beginning to dance on the forest floor._

**\---**

Iris opens up her eyes, wide awake all of a sudden, feeling like she hadn't just woken up from the best sleep she has had in a while, the scent of Lemon and Salt being the first thing she noticed, strong arms around her was the next, and with the topping on the sundae, delight was a loud yawn. Iris' stirring having awoken Sting from his own sleep.

"Mornin'." He greeted, eyes still closed, relishing in the moment while he could. Iris didn't mind, feeling too comfortable and warm to worry about it, her thoughts of the dream she had were fading away. Tossed in the 'Forgotten Dreams' pile in the corner of her mind.

 _"Morning..."_ She replies quietly, closing her eyes, eyes flicking when she heard sudden loud voices erupt from within the guild.

Sting furrows his brows, also hearing the bangs and yells. He grits his teeth, jaw clenching as he sat up, not letting go of Iris and pulling her up with him. 

"Iris, shh, alright?" He tells her brows drawn together. Iris nods, gulping as he stands up on the bed, wrapping her around his midsection.

"Lina and Lector are with Frosch, right?" He asks, feeling her nod against his neck. "Alright. What we are going to do is quickly get dressed, and then Iris, I want you to grab the knife in the left drawer of my desk, it's already attached to a belt. Okay?" He explains to her as his feet hit the floor. Iris is sat down, a small moment of looking at one another before scrambling to throw on clothes, Iris changing out of her pajamas, cheeks, and ears flaming hot as she changed in the same room as him. She did her absolute best not to steal a small glance in his direction, even though she had seen his shirtless before, he only slept with basketball shorts on, but in this manner, it was intimate to her. And embarrassing. 

Iris zips up her jacket, breathing out deeply before taking long strides over to his desk and opening the left drawer, seeing the knife, hilt, and belt attachment Sting said were in there.

"Stay here until I or someone you know comes and gets you- Safe code, Green Light. Got it?" Sting told her urgently, adrenaline beginning to pump when he smelled a wave of blood, muscles stiffening up.

Iris nods quickly, watching him rush to the door and throw it open.

"W-Wait!" Sting stops from running out, his head turning just in time to catch Iris as she runs into him, arms wrapping around his back. "Pl... Please be careful..." She tells him. Sting hugs her back extra tight, burying his nose into her hair and inhaling deeply, wishing that he could return to her in one piece if things were to go south, and she would be there waiting for him safe and sound, not a scratch on her. He didn't know of the situation going on in the guild, but judging by the smell of blood and loud yells and crashes- It wasn't anything good.

"Iris, look at me." Iris pulls her head away, looking up at him, eyelashes fluttering as she blinked curiously, wondering what he wanted to say.

"When I get back, we are going to talk about something. Not related to whatever is happening out there, okay?" She nods, squeaking in surprise when Sting suddenly dives down and pecks her lips before swooping out of her arms and running out the door, closing it behind him as quick as a hare.

"Lock it, remember the safe code!" She hears him shout before the sounds of his boots hitting the floor are what she is left with, along with her beating heart, and anxiety-driven mind.

Down below in the settlement of prosperity- Actually, no. In the battlefield, magic flying everywhere, egotistical shouts and rallies are what great the Guild Master, onyx eyes quickly moving as he surveyed the situation from the outside before diving headfirst, blocking an attack with his magic, saving Orga's ass from being whacked by a very pointy stick.

"Orga, what is going on-"

"SPIN!" He is ignored, not surprisingly, before moving on when he felt she was fine again and would be more careful about what was transpiring behind her.

"Sting!" Shouts Yukino when she spots him, sighing in relief that he was unharmed, no wound visible on him.

"Yukino, what's going on?"

"We were having breakfast-"

 _ **"White Dragon Flash!"**_ Yells out Sting, a flash of white encompassing the room, halting and blinding all in the crossfire, the slayer not having any control on who it effects, he needed time to figure this out, an explanation, he couldn't have that when so much was going on around him. At least this way it was dialed down for him to being to comprehend and understand the situation. "Continue explaining, Yukino!"

"Uh right!" Yukino states, clearing her throat, eyes clenched shut because of the bright light, "We were having breakfast when the doors to the guild were blown open, I think we are being attacked by a dark wizard guild!"

"A guild war?!"

"I don't think so! Because an attack like this is way too organized for this to be random, especially when we haven't been active in beef or getting on other guilds' nerves!" Sting frowns before barreling away from her as the light begins to fade, giving the magic users more visibility to see. Something was wrong, his senses were tingling, and he didn't enjoy the not knowing bit of why they attacked. A dark guild at that.

When he ran around a few times, he was glad to see barely any of his guildmates were injured, it was mostly the dark wizards, meaning that they weren't strong at all compared to them.

A half-hour passes, and Sting will bite his own ego as five figures appear, and change it all.

_**To Be continued** _


	7. Chapter 7

A growl escapes the bottom of Sting's throat at the sight of the Raven Tail Members, the Four Elite, that he was unfortunately briefly introduced to months ago during the Games.

His heart pounded in his chest, nose wrinkling as he searched for Iris' scent, sighing in relief when he figured out that she had stayed as he told her to.

He shares a glance with Minerva, the two strong personalities having the same thought, _'Ivan Dreyar was here, and not for a picnic.'._

"Ah, Sting-Chan! Look at you, all dolled up as the new Guild Master of Sabertooth! How does it feel ma' boy?" He questions him, practically oozing out childlike kindness. Sting's eyes narrow, not answering the man.

"What is the purpose of you attacking our guild?" Questions Minerva, her tongue laced with venom. Ready to rip him a new asshole. Ivan grins, outstretching his arms, "Attacking? Oh no, no, no~! You got it wrong my dear. This is just the play portion. The real fight has yet to begin!" He begins, tilting his head, "...And that shall come later. Why so tense? Have you failed at getting stronger since the Games? If I recall correctly, you suffered a mighty lot of losses-" Sting couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. Rogue scoffs, walking forward to stand by Yukino's side protectively.

"Losses are what makes a wizard stronger. To us, they were wins." He states, not having an issue anymore with how things played out. Nor cared. He mildly glances at his mate, noticing her glance back to the staircase that led to the guild's rooms- and more importantly, to Iris.

"Then why are you here? What is your business if not to stir up a fight between guilds?" Flare lets out an amused laugh, tears coming to her eyes. "Oh ho ho! That's cute that the little guild master thinks this is about turf!" Ivan juts his elbow into her side, stopping her from speaking. "Do not be rude to our guests!"

"Guests?" Yukino mutters in confusion.

"To answer your question, we are here to collect my precious daughter." Sting's eyes widen in shock, 'D-Daughter? There is no way!' He thinks. Rogue bites the inside of his cheek in thought, _'Iris doesn't look anything like a Dreyar unless she strictly takes after her mother... Then why did Ivan address in the letter as, 'Iris Rainbaut'? It doesn't make any sense.'_ He thinks.

"Apologies sir! But we do not have anyone's daughter here!" States Orga.

"Really? Aww man, I'm so sad! I thought for sure she was here. She has been missing for so long, I just want her back in her Daddy's arms!" Ivan swoons, Obra sighs heavily on the other side of him. Wondering when he would stop acting this way.

"We do not know who you speak of." Minerva states to Yukino's shock. The short-haired girl blinking at the tall woman, she fully expected her to give away that Iris was here. Instead, she proved her wrong. She felt her heart swell in admiration for her in that moment. Was she finally seeing the point in protecting someone who can't protect themselves? Especially a monster from their past?

"Oh? Kurohebi, didn't you say that you saw the little one a few days ago here?" Kurohebi nods slowly at the former guild master, "...From the window...Eating caramels." He answers quietly, only loud enough for most of the people in the room to hear him. If the fighting was still going on, no one else besides Sting or Rogue would have made out what he said.

 _'...Caramels?'_ Sting fought back a smile, ' _Was Iris hiding from Lina to eat candy?'_ He found it really cute until he processed fully what the dark individual stated. _'He saw her eating caramels...'_ His eyes narrow into slits, heart beginning to pump.

"See! That is proof enough that our dear princess was here! Oh my, caramels have always been a favorite of hers!" Gushed out Flare, eyes wide in creepy excitement.

"As we said, there is no one here who fits your description-" Rogue states, and is cut off by Kurohebi, "..Short stature, loves caramel candies, blue hair, and blue eyes." He informs them all, eyes bored and disinterested.

"No." Sting begins, "No one here who fits the description. I would be happy to lend a hand in the search for your _'daughter'_ as I see that you miss her very much. But, I must decline politely as you made a mess of my guild hall and wasted everyone's day that was supposed to be spent hearing out on jobs." Ivan's demeanor shifts, Sting notices, the personality being one he was more familiar with.

"We humbly apologize." He bows, bidding his bandwagon of wizards to do the same. "I asked of you to forgive us, and to the best of our abilities, we shall pay you back for the hospitality." He arches a brow, a grin widening on his face. He glances at Flare, pinching her side, "...You have shown our Dear Baby Rainbow." Flare's hair shoots out of the guildhall's doors behind them and up into the sky. Sting's eyes widen in fear, feeling the bond tug at him, the essence of fear riddling through his bones. _'Iris!'_ He shouts in his mind, shooting forward in a ray of light towards Flare without a second thought. Flare was prepared for this hostility, using a different portion of her hair to dodge Sting's attack, vaulting up into the air and onto one of the beams that helped support the guild's structure.

She cackles in delight at the look on Sting's face when the group hears Iris' shriek, and with a whip of her hair, the sound of breaking glass. Sting smelled blood, his mate's blood, eyes flickering into dark shadows at the knowledge of her being hurt by Flare.

Iris is pulled into the guildhall, whipped around, and then thrown to the ground, a yelp of pain escaping her, cuts over her hands and cheeks from breaking through the glass.

"Iris-" Yukino begins to call before she was grabbed by Rogue and dodged out of the way of an incoming attack. The fight has resumed, and now Iris was present.

"Baby Rainbow, there you are!" Ivan states in glee, his malicious smile sending shivers down her spine as she fights herself to get up, staggering and winning in pain. Eyelids flickering after being thrown to the ground so harshly.

"Iris~ You know that you can't hide from big sis!" States Flare as she licks her lips. Iris stands there, frozen to the ground, heart thundering in her chest. _'No... No!'_ Her arm is grabbed by Ivan and was pulled into a hug by him, "It is time to go home, be sure to bow, and thank them for the hospitality dear!" He tells her before leaning down to whisper in her ear, "...And do not worry my dear. We will be sure to show them our gratitude." Her eyes widen in fear, "No..." She knew what his icy words meant.

"Let her go!" A loud booking voice strikes them, Sting running towards them, ready to throw hands with Ivan. Ivan smiles gently down at Iris before returning his gaze back to him.

"What shall I show him? Any requests?" He asks her with a small hum. When the blue-haired girl doesn't reply, he 'tsks', a gasp leaving his lips.

"Oh I know!".

Sting goes to punch and grab Iris out of Ivan's grasp at the same time, only to come up short when both of them suddenly disappear out of thin air. "Iris! Iris!" He shouts for her, turning around in a circle, doing a full 360 as his eyes search for his mate. His brows scrub together, nose wrinkling as he smells for her scent. Ivan may be the father of a dragon slayer, but he has no idea when it came to mates. He will find her. He will not fall for Ivan's tricks again!

 _'Plum blossoms.'_ He thinks as he smells her scent within the room. They were still in the guild. He continues to sniff, the scent getting stronger as he concentrates more- Until he looks above, spotting Flare- And spotted how her hair was holding onto something, _'Bound wrists.'_ He thinks, a low growl airing out of him.

"Oh no! Looks like he found you!" Flare states with a giggle. Ivan lets out a boisterous laugh as he releases the illusion off of him. "My oh my! Baby Rainbow, he sure has a keen sense! And here apparently, he never knew who you were- Ah, I guess that still stands true." Ivan grins at Iris.

"I'm going to save you, just hang on, okay?!" Sting tells her in a shout before he has to dodge a few attacks from different underling dark wizards, flipping up and back onto his feet on a table. 

"White Dragon Roar!" He shouts, gathering up the energy and sending his first flying to the opposite end of the room, blowing holes through the wall.

"Ah, didn't expect him to do that," Ivan comments sassily to himself. He clears his throat, resting his hands on Iris' shoulders from behind. He leans down to her ear. "With you being gone for so long, we have been running low darlin'. Just for this fight, we have 200mg of pure magic. I have perfected it. Would you like to see all of the hard work put into it?"

"N-No! Please dont-! Ivan!" Ivan grins deviously, sharing a small nod with Flare.

"Alright troops! Time for Operation RAINBAUT to meet its climax!" He shouts the order, ignoring how desperately Iris began to struggle against her bonds.

Many Sabertooth Wizards back off when the dark wizards grab a vial out of their pockets, chills running down their spine. "What-"

"Run! Please run!" Iris shouts to any willing to listen, tears stinging her eyes as Sting finally makes it up to the wooden beams and charges into Flare's side, setting her off balance.

"Woah!" Flare stabilizes herself, but in doing so, Sting sees his chance to grab ahold of her hair that was holding Iris, not caring if his hands were beginning to burn, and rips it off of around his mate's wrists.

"Boy!" Ivan begins, taking his eyes off of the dark wizards below that began to chug down the liquid in the vials.

**\---**

"Look at how magnificent this all is! This tremendous power! All just from 10mg!" Ivan states in absolute delight, pride filling his head with fall pretenses, he was blind to what was really happening in the bodies of his men.

Iris stares blankly at the group of wizards, from within the confines of her tube, the magic continuing to be suctioned out of her. Nothing could be done. She was powerless. Weak, malnourished, tired, and wanting this to be over. 

If only she didn't exist.

If she hadn't existed in the first place.

These creatures wouldn't exist because of her.

_The demons created by just the pure magic that flows through **her veins.**_

**\---**

Sting twirls around with Iris in his arms, his back colliding with the table below, snapping her out of the past and back into the present. Just what would 200mg of her magic do to them? And they all were pure dark wizards, how would it affect them? Was there now no going back for them?

"Sting, Sting, Sting! Get up!" She orders him hurriedly, turning around in his arms and smacking his cheeks. Sting groans, eyes fluttering open. Heart swelling at the sight of Iris finally back in his arms again. And not to mention but also on top of him

He shakes his head, eyes widening before he rolls off to the side, dodging an attack- wait, and attack?

He covers above Iris, shielding her away from an array of magical attacks directed solely on the two of them.

"W-We have to leave!" Sting pushes himself slightly up to look down at Iris, spotting the lightning flickering within them again.

"We can draw them out, Iris. I could have done that ages ago, but I needed to make sure you were with me first-"

"No! You can't take them all on now!" Tears begin to stream down her cheeks, pushing up on Sting's chest, making him sit up.

"Sting, Iris! Duck!" The two duck from a magic attack which included a very huge double edge shadow sword that Rogue manifested. He swings it above their heads and hits the group of robed wizards. Unbeknownst to him, when he sends them flying several feet into the air and back down onto the floor of the guild. They didn't take a minute to recuperate, they stood right back up.

"What-?" 

"We have to leave!" States Iris again, pleasing Sting with her eyes to agree with her. "Why? We can defend-"

"No! They took 200mg of pure magical energy just now! They are no longer human, the dark mages are now demons! We- We can't-!" Stings grab ahold of her head, cradling it between his hands tenderly. He smiles at her, his dark eyes softening.

"Yes, yes we can. We are Sabers, Iris. And so are you." He whispers. She blinks up at him, the shots and growl of the dark wizards- demons, in the background of her thoughts. _'Me... A Saber..'_ She thinks, gaze flickering to the world around her, spotting everyone trying so hard to fight back against the demons. Ivan and his crew no longer in sight.

She looks back to Sting, the lightning in her eyes at full force, taking him back.

"A Saber?" She questions, watching him nod, a grin forming on his lips. "Yes, a Saber." She leans forward and wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him. He could feel her form shaking in his arms, inquiring a brow to raise as to why. Why was she still fearful? They had this under control. Ivan was no longer in sight, she can't be taken away from them- **From him.**

"Thank you, Sting." She thanks him with a whisper next to his ear before she pulls away, not waiting for a reply from him. She stands up, pulling him up with her.

"Get everyone behind me." Sting blinks, "What?"

"P-Please, just do it." She asks of him, her eyes flicking to every demon she could, counting them mentally in her head.

"Iris, what do you plan on doing?" She doesn't reply, only looks back at him, and smiles. A smile directed towards him, leaving his heart to skip a beat in his chest and cheeks to flame up. The bond strengthening. She felt it to, the pull and strength. The oozing affection, the urge to protect him.

And she will.

Because within the next few minutes if she doesn't, she would be standing amongst the bodies of the Sabertooth guild members.

Their corpses.

He nods firmly, snapping out of it, and within a flash, runs off and begins to gather everyone, ordering them to not fight the demons anymore.

They run back over to where Iris was after disengaging the fight. Iris proceeds to take steps back, never taking her eyes off from the group of demons forming, foam dripping down from the shape mouths, red and swirling black eyes staring back at her.

After gathering Orga, who was having a hard time getting out of a corner- Sting circles back, tossing Orga into the crowd of good wizards who followed his instruction without question. They all trusted him with their lives, even though he didn't know what Iris planned to do.

"Iris. I got everyone." Sting tells her, returning to her side, only to be pushed back behind her by herself, the 19-year-old quickly looking back at him.

"When I meant everyone, that includes you, Sting." She states to him, voice steady.

"Iris...?" She ignores him.

"What on earth is she planning to do? That useless girl." Mutters Minerva, honestly pissed that she was pulled away from her fight bitterly. Yukino holds Lector and Lina to her chest, while Frosch clings to Rogue. "I have a bad feeling, Rogue," Yukino tells him. Rogue nods in agreement, "Be ready to come to her aid."

"Honestly, I do not know what she is thinking!" Lina states with an annoyed huff after being left out.

"You don't know anything?"

"Not a clue." Lina answers quickly. 

"You can do this, Iris." Iris takes a few deep breaths in and out, trying to calm down her nerves.

"Iris, what is doing on? What do you plan on-"

"I'm sorry, Sting." His eyes widen, heart leaping, his mind jumping as his only logical thought goes to- goes to... He shakes his head. He can't let her do that.

"Iris don't, I won't let you do that!"

"I'm not! I'm saying sorry for hiding!" She states, unzipping her jacket and pulling it off of her, letting it fall to a clump on the floor.

"I won't let them do this. I can't. This is my fault, my fault for running when I knew what was happening, what was being experimented, to be created. I won't let them leave this guild hall." Startled gasps fill the air as lightning begins to course through her veins, dancing across her freckled skin, the energy increasing, her magic power increasing.

"Iris dont!" _'She can become a powerful wizard... Or a ticking time bomb.'_ He thinks, his worries coming true. She glances back at him, the dragon slayer expecting to see blue eyes staring back at him, but instead met by startling rainbow blues, the colors shifting and swirling in her eyes. The veins popping out amongst her skin, the magic building up coming to fruition, and she smiles. Grinning at him with teeth and all.

"I am sorry for not telling you." She airs out, turning back to the demons ahead, and begins to walk. Magic powers surging through the cap that was supposed to be the max that any normal wizard could go.

"I won't let history repeat, Mum." She promises. "Even at the cost of my own self."

"Iris!" The cap breaks, the glass shattering as trembles fill the earth, setting the ground of wizards of balance and onto their asses.

 _ **"Rainbow Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Mother's Reign!"**_ She shouts the words, a blinking flash of light enveloping the room, along with the screams of the demons in pain as they melt from the harsh rays of light-spirited onto them.

Sting cracks open his eyes, after being momentarily blinded, eyes widening when he spotted the barrier that surrounded them all, protecting them from whatever spell Iris just used against the demons.

 _"Mum, aid me."_ Iris whispers, and shall she did.

A corporeal form of a dragon appears behind Iris, startling them all as a whole.

 _"Strip them of the power granted."_ She orders softly, sections of light leaving the melting bodies of the demons and begin entering the dragon present behind Iris.

The dragon was sized down, Sting noticed, as he knew a regular dragon would not be able to fit inside of the guild like this. Hell, was this dragon even real? What was going on? He didn't understand. Not anymore.

"Thank you." Iris whispers again as the lights stop entering the dragon, and demons stop melting, and now was dissolving into nothing. Leaving only their robes behind.

Iris turns around, not paying attention to the shocked and confused faces of her newfound friends, and instead looks up at the dragon, outstretching her hand before resting it onto the creature's snout.

"I know that you aren't physically with me anymore. So I thank you for returning to aid me, even for just a few moments." Iris takes a deep breath in, closing her eyes, the powerful air and energy around her diminishing back into regular levels.

"I can take them now. It's my responsibility to not let it get into the wrong hands." She ushers out. The corporeal dragon smirks, the beautiful blue scenes shimmering, giving over the holographic rainbows under the light coming in from the windows and the lights above that weren't damaged in the fight.

"I thank you, Mum." Iris smiles a tearful smile before gasping in pain as the dragon disappears, and the lights pour into her, back into her body that was once stolen from her. Iris falls forward, gripping onto her chest as the barrier that surrounded her friends cracks them shatters into millions of pieces.

"Iris!" Sting takes this as his chance to rush over and help Iris, the danger now gone, his mind racing as he only thought of Iris.

He, however, falls short in his sprint to her, nose scrunching, smelling the new scent that accompanied Iris.

His eyes narrowed into the slits of a dragon, the stronger scent of plum blossoms and lavender invading his senses without a moment to let him breathe and think coherently. _'Dragon slayer...'_ He thinks, hands clenching into fists. 'Her apologies...' She lied to him. To them all.

His heart pains at the thought of her not being truthful for him, that she told him lies, that she hid herself from him. And the most painful part of it was- He still wanted to rush over and scoop her up into his arms, feeling the pain she was currently feeling on a scaled-down level.

Iris was a Dragon Slayer- _Is a Dragon Slayer._

She lied to him this past week and a half.

He could feel anger, resentment, sorrow, regret, all wrapped up into one ball of emotions entangle within him. How could he still feel this way towards someone who chose to lie to him?

His eyes narrow more precisely, she's a slayer... _She knows._

"Iris!" Lina flies out of Yukino's arms and over to Iris, her small body barreling into the young girls, sending her onto her back. Iris smiles, tears streaming down her face, hugging Lina to her chest, softly sobs and sniffles escaping her.

_**To Be continued** _


	8. Chapter 8

_A friend?_

_What is that? Her child's mind wondered._

_Her curious blue eyes studied the humans walking around them in the market place, the unfamiliar language being spoken and confusing her brain, still unable to speak or understand it._

_However, her mother had no problem with it, stopping at one of the stalls to look at the cotton and silk clothing out on display. Hoping to find what she was looking for. Iris has recently been going through growth spurts, and would soon need new clothing to accommodate her new heights._

_She looked to the left, seeing a little girl clutching onto her mother's dress, shyly staring back at her._

_Iris smiles kindly and gives a small wave. She opens her mouth to speak, excited beyond compare to see another child like herself- When she is reminded that they couldn't speak. She didn't know the language._

_Nor was she allowed to make friends with anyone._

_What was a friend? Were they bad? Was the word horrible? Would it do something to her if she left herself called someone by that name?_

_She didn't know. Her mother never really explained it to her. Most likely to further keep her safe._

_She tugs on her mother's arm, "Mummy.." She whispers, head tilting up to get a better look at the tall woman. She glances down at her, giving her a kind and reassuring smile. She says something to the shop keeper real quick before returning her attention back down to her. "Just a bit more, okay? Do you want to pick out a color that you like while we wait?" Irish stares back up at her, softly nodding when her child's brain registers what her mother said to her. The shopkeeper hands down a clipboard to Iris, displaying different materials and colors that she currently had in stock._

_Iris has forgotten about the little girl, and it is too late to make friends with her. However, she is content. Knowing that her mother was at her side, and wasn't going to leave._

**\---**

"You!" She scrambles up to her feet, cradling Lina to her chest. Minerva stalks towards her, grabbing the front of her tanktop threateningly. "What was that?! Explain yourself!"

"S-S-Sor- Sor-" Her heart thunders in her chest, unable to form the apology. Minerva groans, letting go of Iris and tossing her back down onto the ruined floor of the guild. Iris winces in pain, her right elbow connecting with the ground and sending a ripping shock of pain from the impact.

"Don't start up this act now! What was that? Just who exactly are you?!" Iris doesn't know how to respond to that, and is honestly, getting quite confused. Why was she getting so agitated with her? She had made sure that she was within the barrier before activating the spell, so it couldn't have hurt her.

"You little weasel! You come whimpering in like a damsel in distress, complaining about how storms scare you boohoo! And then you go and- And I don't even know what you did!" Iris blinks, a thought occurring to her, _'Is she perhaps hungry? She did work quite hard to help everyone.'_ She thinks to herself, obvious to the current looks cast upon her. 'How does she know about my fear?' Her brows furrow.

"Minerva, that's enough." Rogue settles it, resting his hand on Minerva's shoulder. The woman continues to seethe down at her. The dark-haired male's nose wrinkles. Unlike before, he is now able to smell the scent. Proving to him that she was a dragon slayer- is one. Just, how was she able to mask it? Especially in the presence of both him and her mate?

And that spell... It didn't sit right with him.

Nor how she used magic he had never known before. That wasn't lightning magic. Like it should have been if she was the Lightning Dragon Slayer.

His brows furrow, trying his best to recall what exactly she shouted in the midst of chaos.

"You are bleeding." Rogue comments, spotting the blood on her upper chest. Instinctively, to not making it more of a deal out of the situation- Iris claps her hand over the slice in her arm, still holding Lina against her. The knowledge of her bleeding snaps Sting out of the current funk he was, storming over and removing Lina from her arms. Lina hisses at him as she tossed into Rogue's arms, the male keeping her at bay from scratching up Sting's pretty-boy face.

"Yukino get the medkit!"

"You can't seriously be wasting supplies on her after that! We have enough problems, especially after this! The whole room is destroyed, Sting!"

"Shut up, Minerva. I am fully aware." The blond snaps, canines showing. Successfully shutting her up. "Find something better to do. Go to contact the bank. We will be taking out a loan. Orga, check everyone for injuries." Orga claps her hands together, nodding gruffly.

"Yes sir! Form a line, everyone! Master Sting has said so, so we shall follow it!"

"Iris, what's going on?" Lina asks her, the poor exceed cluelessly. Sting's eyes narrow. Did Lina not know? Despite being her exceed companion?

"H-H-Ha..." Iris shakes her head, too choked up to be able to get any words out. Yukino comes jogging back with the medkit, along with wet clothes to clean off the blood. When did she get hurt? Sting didn't recall seeing her get struck in the chest.

His question was answered by his own thoughts, memories the streams and orbs of light.

The blood wasn't too dry, making it easier to be cleaned off of her skin.

"No major injuries to report, sir!" Sting nods, "Thank you."

"Yukino, go check on Minerva. Make sure she doesn't do anything.. Rash." She nods, already knowing to go after Minerva. Rogue takes his mate's place, crouching down beside his best friend, unbothered by the soft warning growl Sting used against him to not look below Irish' neckline. She was wearing a tank top, and once cleared of the blood, her cleavage would be more exposed to them, which included the top side of her chest.

He clears his throat before speaking, "Iris. What magic did you just use?" He asks her, hoping to get an answer. He is instead met with silence.

"We already figured out by the smel- scent. That you are like us. But, what you just did, wasn't just regular magic." He informed her, keeping his voice steady and quiet. She seemed shaken up, he didn't want to make it worse on her, nor himself. If she was frazzled, she wouldn't speak. If she wouldn't speak, they would get no answers.

"How... How about Ivan? Why did he come here and just suddenly leave?" Iris blearily blinked back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes, wincing slightly when Sting scrubbed too hard on her skin. "Sorry." He muttered apologetically, having not meant to hurt her.

"...H-He- H- Got what... What he wan-wanted." She stutters out, glancing down to her forearm subconsciously.

"What do you mean?" Lina follows her friend's gaze, eyes widening.

"Iris! That's going to scar!" The Twin Dragon Slayers look down at her arm, spotting what Lina was speaking of. A long sizeable gash, for the past few minutes, Iris had been holding the forearm with her hand to help neutralize the bleeding.

Sting stops cleaning up her chest, missing the tattoo that was about to be revealed fully to him focusing instead of her arm, removing her hand from, blood pouring out of the wound. It was deep, and not a clean-cut, quite bagged at the tail end of it...

"Iris when did-"

"Flare. Bl-Bl-Blade hidden." She answers simply. Then passes out, falling forward into Sting's chest. Blood rushes to his head, heart-pumping erratically as anger fuels his veins. 

"Get a healer. Now!" He orders with a staggering shout, his voice bouncing off of the walls. Rogue himself jumps at the intensity of his voice, watching the blonde pick up his mate in a cradle, his cabinets permanently bared now. He was pissed.

And honestly, Rogue didn't know if it was towards himself, Iris, or Ivan. Or a combination of all three.

**\---**

Porlyusica grumbles under her breath as she works her magic throughout the young girl's body, regenerating the targeted cells, however finding herself stumped on how to speed up the process.

"Why isn't she healed yet?" Questions Sting, eyes narrowed at the woman. "When it comes to healing, part of the power comes from the wizard themselves that I am healing. She has too much magical power, it is clogging up her system, making the process slower than it should be." She sighs heavily, "However, the bleeding has stopped for now. She will be alright." She states.

"Having too much magic power can do that?" The older woman nods, "It can. Magic is in all of us, and every person has their own degrees of it. It gradually increases the older we get, the more experienced we become, hence stronger. But with hers..." Porlyusica didn't know how to say it, her magic power was abnormal. Even for someone, that she was told, barely used her magic. For it to be all built of like this.

Of course, she can see and sense it all within her body, and the majority of the magic that was way above the average amount was her own, and the magic that has built up over time was just leftovers.

It confused her greatly and would remind herself in the future to find out why that was.

"We figured out the spell Iris used!" Came crashing in Yukino and Rogue, the two almost trampling over the exceeds seated on the ground of the infirmary.

"Watch it you two!"

"Yeah!"

"We are sitting here!" The three exceeds chimes, earning a giggle from Yukino. "Sorry!"

"The spell?" Sting doesn't take his eyes off of Iris, waiting for her to wake up. In his mind, he would think she would wake up soon, right? Especially with all of the work being done on her.

"The magic circle, and with what we could see... It looked like fire magic, but no fire was present. So we looked for heat magic or something that would cause human bodies to melt-" Yukino shakes her head, "No, they weren't human anymore. We all saw that, right? So it couldn't just be a regular spell like that. It had to be specifically made for... For whatever those things were." Yukino corrects him.

"Her words for the spell were, 'Rainbow Dragon Secret Art: Mother's Rain', we still haven't figured out why said Rainbow." Sting's eyes shift down to his hands, currently holding onto Iris' left hand. He rubs his thumb over her knuckles, thinking back on past events.

"He called Iris, 'Baby Rainbow'. Maybe she said the spell wrong?"

"If she said the spell wrong, then it wouldn't have worked. Just who taught you magic again?" Porlyusica swiftly asks sarcastically. Sting lets out an annoyed sigh, too tired to fight back on her logic. Knowing that he was wrong.

"Rainbow... I don't understand. I have never heard of anything like that before." Yukino says. Porlyusica humans, "In all my years, I have encountered many different types of magic. Something called as childish as, 'Rainbow' is a first."

"At this point, we will have to wait and ask Iris herself what all this means.".

An hour passes before Iris opens her eyes, a soft groan passing her lips as she feels her body ache in pain, short tenses of her muscles constricting with every breath she took. She hated dealing with the aftereffects of using magic after a long time. It was getting increasingly more annoying and painful as she grew older. She wished it would all end already.

Her blurry vision focuses, staring up at the ceiling of the infirmary, the passing thought of the familiarity of it diminishing, realizing just where she was. _'I am still here...?'_ To be honest with herself, she fully expected to wake up on the side streets somewhere after getting kicked out.

She glances down to her side where she felt warmth pressed up against her, spotting Lina, sleeping softly as she took a nap. Iris breathes out a sigh in relief at the sight of her being safe. And she wasn't harmed either. Another good thing.

Today wasn't going as planned, and as sad enough as it was, she wished to fall back asleep and never wake up again so she didn't have to deal with it all. The confrontation of it.

She trails her hand across her chest, feeling the bandages wrapped around her torso and up underneath her armpits. She couldn't get herself out of this one.

Begrudgingly sitting up- The blue-haired girl winces, clutching at her side, the dull ache from her previous injury still present.

Her nose wrinkles, picking up on the scent... The stronger scent than before.

Her eyes widen in fear, _'I never masked myself after...'_ She begins to think, trailing off when the lemon and salt hit her, waltzing into the room as the door opens with a soft slam against the wall. She couldn't do anything, only stare at those onyx colored eyes, the bond strengthening more and more. _'Now he can tell what I am.'_ She thinks, _'No use in masking it now.'_

Sting stares at her, ready to hit her with his questions about her wellbeing, and a mix on what happened, why she lied to him, why she hid it, and just why did she-

His hardened gaze softens, his clenched jaw and fists loosening, becoming the sap he was when around her when he spotted her eyes beginning to water.

Even after all of that, she somehow still had this effect on him, still left him imagining a future with her in it.

"Iris-" Sting is pushed aside roughly by an angered Minerva, igniting the flame within the room as she begins to tear into her.

"Who the fuck are you?! Tell me right here, right now, because I know for sure that you aren't going to say shit to this idiot over here! So you are going to sit there, tell me, right here, right now. Iris." She seethes out, her loud booming voice awaking Lina. Lina whimpers, gripping onto Iris' thigh. "Iris..." She pleads. Iris stays silent, mouth hanging open after being caught off guard.

"Minerva, I have got this handled!" Sting shouts at her, his brows arched in anger. He understood that she was angry, and was feeling fear, no matter how much she denies it, causing her to act this way towards his mate. But, by now, she should know the only way to speak to Iris was calmly, or else she would shut down and not say anything for a week.

They didn't have that time, especially if Ivan planned on returning.

"No, Sting! I'm tired of you all dodging the bullet when it comes to her! All we have ever done is provide her with food, clothes, freshwater, a roof over her head, medicine- You name it! Draining our resources, if it was up to me, she would be out the moment she was carried into this guild!" Iris watches at the corner of her eye, Sting moves, grabbing a hold of Minerva's arm and throwing her back over to the door, dark eyes staring intensely at her. Iris gulps at the atmosphere shift, "I provided her with food, I provided her with clothes, I provided her with things that she needed to live comfortably. Because it was my choice to do so as the Master of Sabertooth. You haven't done anything Minerva. During these past months, I have noticed when doing paperwork how you have stopped going on jobs, thus not providing income for the guild or yourself. I had been meaning to speak with you about this more privately, but always switched the subject to other things, distracting me from what I actually needed to speak to you about. Go and help the others with the repairs. Iris is my sole responsibility." Minerva opens her mouth to protest against Sting's decision and is immediately shot down by him.

"Now." He growls. Minerva's eyes narrow, glaring at the blond before huffing like a child, turning swiftly on her heel, grabs the door handle and slams it with extra force as she leaves.

Iris jumps at the sound of the loud crash, faintly hearing Minerva yelling out curse words down the hall. She feels a small bubble of pride and amusement flare-up in her at Sting's actions for standing up to the woman. She pushes that feeling down. Knowing that it wasn't the time for it.

Sting sighs, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. He hopes all of this would go away, just for one day and one night. He wanted peace and quiet.

"Lina, can you step out of the room for a few? I need to speak with Iris about this privately. I don't want to upset you more than I already have." Lina nods, sniffling, "You didn't upset me, Sting... J-Just Minerva's voice-" Iris hushes her, petting the top of her head to calm the exceed down. Lina's body relaxes, softly humming. Lina gets off of the bed, activating her Aera magic before flying over the door, Sting opening it for her. His brow furrowed at the sound of the door creaking when he did, _'Door replacement added to the repair list...'_ He thinks, making sure Lina is down the hallway before he closed the door and locks it.

He takes a breath in, biting his lower lip as he devises how to go about this. He did have a plan when he initially stormed in, but now that was forgotten to him after Minvera interrupted him, leaving him to scramble and pull on the mismanaged threads of his thoughts.

"...Iris, Iris is your real name?" He asks her first, his tone gradually becoming softer with every word. Iris nods, "Yes..." She whispers in reply. Sting smiles softly, glad to know that she at least didn't lie to him about that.

"Are you really afraid of lightning and thunder?" She nods again, "Even before magic, I w-w-was afraid of it."

"Alright uh... Dragon Slayer?" Sting could see her eyebrows slightly rise from underneath her straight across bangs, igniting the feeling inside of him. She knew the word, the context of this conversation. It was frightening for some reason he didn't know, honestly, how should he be feeling right now?

"Yes..." She answers quietly, knowing that she couldn't chicken out of the confession, nor to create a lie.

"Why didn't you tell me- anyone?" He corrects himself, slowly resting his body as he sat on the bed, wanting to show her that it was alright. He couldn't be mad at her right now, he was finding it difficult to be. In any truth, he was more disappointed than anything.

_**To Be continued** _


	9. Chapter 9

Blinking up at him, my throat closed up, and my heart racing. I knew that I couldn't stall this conversation any further after the first few minutes of silence.

I didn't know what to do, what to say- I mean, I had thought about it when it would happen if someone somehow figured it out, about what I was, I had precautions set in place, a spell, to keep myself safe- But, I feel like I couldn't do that, not to the guild, and especially not to him. 

I put them all in danger, all because of me, all because I didn't move on from here, didn't continue walking. If I had only braced myself for that impact if only I hadn't slept in that day... None of them would be in danger because of me.

What can I do? To be truthful for him?

I chew on my bottom lip nervously, my gaze breaking from his as I looked over to the side, to bed next to mine, _'He needs the truth.'_ I think, _'At this point, I could be anyone to him. He has only known for a week, he would choose his guild over a stranger lying to him if it meant protecting his family.'_ I swallow the lump in my throat, sadness washing over me at the thought. Why was I sad at that thought? The thought of him choosing people he cares about and has known for a long time over me? Someone who hasn't been truthful with him. Nor someone he knows extensively.

"Iris." I feel a hand cup the side of my face, forcing me to look back at him, my cheeks flushing a pink hue at the intimacy.

"I don't want to force you to speak to me, but- But you need to tell me who you are, and what danger my family is in now." His tone lowered, more serious and apprehensive. His eyes had grown dark at the thought of me being a danger to them all- And I couldn't blame him for thinking that way, I couldn't blame Minerva either, I would do the same if I were in their situation.

I didn't know how to put my life's story into words, or how to make it short. How do I even speak? How do I tell the truth? Without this sinking feeling in my chest, and without my eyes watering at the thought of losing my facade?

Even after I thought I was prepared for this, in reality, I wasn't, and that was killing me. I took a deep shaky breath in, recounting back on conversations I had with Mum, I knew that there was a way to make this quick... I just had to remember.

"S-Sting." I stuttered, his head tilting softly to the side, listening in. _'I can't speak... But, I can...'._ _**"Memory Magic: Recount,"**_ I mumbled just enough for the spell to activate before I pushed forward, planting my lips on his own, transferring my memories through the contact.

We were rushed through the memories, my memories, the information dump overwhelming both of us as I relived it all, letting my arms wrap around his shoulders to keep myself in contact with him, not wanting him to accidentally pull away and break the connection.

Sting's eyes were blown wide, I could see beyond the fragments I pulled out of the memory bank in the corner of my brain. 

**-**

_"Mommy!" I squealed in delight, twirling around as the little blue flame in my hand flickered, the beauty of the hot gas entrancing to me. Instead of the woman, I called my mother back then walking through the doorway of the home into the living area- It was my father, his dark hair overshadowing his dark gaze when he caught sight of me._

_I froze, quickly putting my hands behind my back, hiding the flame, but the damage was already done. He already saw, and he already has seen._

_"What do you think, you are doing?" He asks me as a soft whimper escapes my mouth, feeling my knees begin to tremble._

_"P-Play-Play-"_

_"Speak correctly girl!" I get backhanded in the face harshly, the force sending me flying on to the floor._

_"Ren, you are a dead woman!" He shouts, voice bouncing off of the walls. Tears stream down my chubby cheeks, shaking my head profusely as I grip harshly onto the fabric. "No! Mommy didn-t-"_

_"What did I say about speaking?!" He returns to shouting at me again, stomping over and grabbing me by my hair, ripping out short locks of blue hair, leaving my scalp more red and irritated._

_"N-No! I-I-I'm sorry sorry sorry sorry!" I repeated and repeated, hoping that he would forgive me and calms down. He instead drags me through the house in search of the woman he married, not finding her in the kitchen, despite the stove being a lit, preparations for that night halted._

_"Ren!" He screams her name again, dragging me into every room in search of her, the small ranch house out in the middle of the farm field leaving us with nowhere to run, no other human could be seen for miles, leaving us both trapped._

_"Dead woman, you are a dead woman!" He repeats himself, his grip on my hair tightening._

**-**

Tears stream down my face, feeling the ghost pain of the memory, my grip tightening around Sting as I felt and heard a growl against my lips come from him, bubbling out of his throat. _'Stay with me, Sting...'_ I think, hoping that my words reach him somehow. His reply was him wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into him, effectively picking me up and resting me in his lap.

**-**

_"-The fuck is that woman!?" The more agitated he became, the more I cried, the more I wished for him to disappear so Mommy could come out and play with me, so Mommy can teach me more about magic, so Mommy could give me more hugs and kisses._

_I want all of this to disappear. I just want Mommy and me._

_We find Mommy, but not how we wanted to._

_In my sorry room, with only a wooden plank, a pillow, and a blanket on the floor, sat Mommy against the wall underneath the sill of the opened window. The smell of iron, and the gory depiction of a slit throat greeting us both, her husband and child._

_His grip loosens until I am no longer being held by my hair, face planting me onto the ground. I slowly move my head, looking to Mommy, my boney chin rubbing against the flooring. My father was stunned into silence for a few moments, the first time since I was born where he was in the same room as us where he didn't shout, didn't force himself on either of us, didn't hurt nor throw pieces of furniture- Nothing. He just stood there, in my childhood bedroom, and stared at the corpse that was no longer his wife. The one he had a child with, the one he now abuses until she is unable to think for herself._

_ Mommy was gone, at age 25. _

_Dark locks of chocolate brown hair hanging over her face, dead blue eyes staring back at me, that used to be so full of life and love._

_If only I was the perfect daughter._

_If only I had met her expectations of what life could have been for her as a mother._

_She would still be here._

_Combing my hair, braiding it to cover the bald spots from when my father would rip it out to get me ready for school._

_Her laughter when she would greet me when I got home, laughing at my stories from the day as she prepares a small after school snack for me. Then we would read a new book on the couch until we could hear the magic vehicle pull up alongside the house, dropping my father off from work._

_Something must have run through my father's mind then, his eyes casting down to me, burning into the top of my head. It flipped something darker within him. All of those years of knowing, all of those years of shouting and bruises. Came to this. He didn't have to keep up appearances anymore with her gone. His colleagues from work wouldn't know the difference._

_I flinch when I felt his hand on the top of my head, expecting to get grabbed again, but instead, he softly runs his fingers through my hair. I hunker down onto the floor, digging my fingernails into the palms of my hand._

_"Daughter, how old are you?" He questions me._

_"Six..." I reply to not anger him. I didn't know what he was planning to do._

_His hand moves down to my arm, tugging on it to get me to stand up. I push myself off of the ground, my whole body shaking. He kneels down in front of me, and for the first time since I was one, he pulls me into a hug, smothering me in the scent of tree sap and dirt._

_"Woman is dead now. Like I promised. You understand?" I softly nodded in confusion._

_"When you go to school tomorrow, don't say Mommy is dead, understood?" I nod again, tensing up when I feel his hand slither down from the middle of my back and down to my calf, slowly rising up._

_"Do you know why?"_

_"N-No, sir.." I reply, yelping when he grips ahold of my bum tightly. He chuckles darkly, "Because you are Mommy now." My eyes widen in fear, alarm bells ringing in my mind._

**_"If Father ever touches you, hit him where his penis is."_ **

**_"What- W-what's a pe-pe-penis?"_ **

**_"Down here, Iris. Down here."_ **

_My mother's instructional words ignite a fire within me._

_He pulls his head away from resting against the side of mine, the grin on his face anything but of a loving doting father's. And it fell when he saw the strikes of lightning within the deep blues of my irises._

_I kick him with as much force as I could, his mouth falling open as he yells in pain, his hands instinctively covering his crotch, giving me the chance to run._

**_"Once you do, run, Iris. And don't ever stop, okay?"_ **

**_"Okay!"_ **

_I run as fast as my little legs could carry me, adrenaline pumping through my veins, harder, faster, leap Iris, leap!_

**-**

Before the memory could finish, Sting breaks the contact, forcing our lips apart. I gasp, panting harshly as he buries his face into my collarbone, his form shaking, rage oozing out of him.

"S-Sting, i-it wasn-wasn't-"

"No. I refuse to see what happens next."

"But-" The blond moves his head away from my collarbone, staring up at me as I stared back down at him. My eyes widen at the sight of tears, instinctively moving my hands to cup the sides of his face, wiping away the salty tears from his cheeks.

"Listen to me, Iris. You were six, you weren't going to be able to outrun a full-grown man and I refuse to watch that happen to you, I fucking refuse to watch that fucking pedo-" I kiss him again, his eyes widening as he goes to push me away again, having expected me to continue showing him the memory. I shake my head, tilting my head to deepen to kiss. He was getting to worked up, I could feel his anger rise against my father, and with that anger, it will morph and twist until there is no going back. I didn't want that to happen. I didn't want him to feel this way, that's not what I intended when I started off my explanation with this. I couldn't skip over it sadly, no matter how much I wanted to. It ties too deep in with my history to just gloss over it.

Sting's body relaxes underneath me, melting into my kiss, eyes closing. Our lips mold and tangle, small huffs of air passing between us every time we took a second to breathe in more air before returning to each other again. He grips on my body, and I grip onto his hair, my hand sliding up the back of his head, feeling the texture of his short hair. I was getting lost in him, his scent invading my every thought, the taste of him addicting, and pulling me more and more into him. Not wanting to stop. I didn't understand why I couldn't, why I didn't want to pull away, why I didn't want to stop. And why he didn't want to either.

So lost that I push his back on the bed, our lips rosy and cheeks flushed. He rolls us over, leaving him to hover on top of me, continuing the drawn-out kiss, panting into my mouth as I grip on his hair tightly, a low growl ripping through his throat, making me feel warmer.

Lemon and Salt, Sting Eucliffe, his warm skin, his comforting presence... Oh god, what was happening to me? To us?

He didn't want to stop either, not even when our lungs were running out of oxygen, he pulled away from lips, instead trailing them down my jaw, planting small soft kisses against my skin.

 _'So overwhelming, way too overwhelming...'_ I bite back a gasp when I feel his teeth scrape against the juncture between my neck and shoulder, flaring a new sensation within me, an unfamiliar thought surfacing, ~~**'Let him, let him.'**~~ Let him do what?

 _"Sting..."_ I air out desperately, wanting something that I couldn't put into words, my chest rising and falling in short cycles.

My stomach does flips when I feel him graze his teeth against my skin again, also accompanying his tongue into the mix, sending shivers down my spine, involuntarily arching my back up into him pressing the front of my body against his.

My eyes stung, my teeth throbbing, ~~_**'Let me, let me...'**_~~ The voice returned, do what?

He pulls on my skin with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth, _"Ah~"_ I didn't realize what left my mouth. Nor did I realize that it snapped Sting out of whatever this was.

He quickly removes himself from me, letting go of the skin he was sucking on, and sits up, rolling away from me to the headboard of the infirmary bed. I felt a cold breeze with the movement, my heart racing as I stared up at the ceiling, panting heavy pants. My whole body felt like it was on fire, unextinguishable fire.

It took me a few moments of trying to calm myself down to really process what just occurred, my mind cloudy, unconsciously repeating the events in my head. I cover my face with my hands in embarrassment, _oh god..._ What was that? Why did we do that?

"Shit... I'm sorry Iris, I-I didn't mean to, fuck." Sting apologizes to me, and when I crack two of my fingers open, looking over at him, I saw him covering his own face with the back of his hand, his ears flushed as red as his face was.

I took a few more deep breaths in, breathing them out slowly, effectively calming down my heart rate to a respectable beat before I sat up, sniffing the air. 'Plum?' I sniffed again, 'Lavender?' I didn't understand, was there miraculously candles alight in the midst of us- My cheeks flush again at the thought of, 'making out', with the guild master. _'So scandalous!'_ I cover my cheeks again, internally screaming at myself.

"I smell like this to you?" Sting suddenly pipes up. My eyebrows furrow, glancing over at him in confusion while still covering my face. Most of his embarrassment has subsided, but I had a feeling if I were to make a small comment on what just happened, he would revert back to a blushing mess.

"W-What?" I seeth at myself for stuttering. But like any other time when I did when I was around him, he didn't comment, only smiled at me.

"Lemon, huh?" My eyes widen, 'How did he-?' He sniffs again, I swear if he- "...Salt? How are those two scents attractive to you?" My cheeks burn. I swiftly turn my head away, not meeting his eyes.

"S-Shut- Shut up! I-I don't..." When he laughs at my embarrassment, I don't get angry at him, I feel flutters in my stomach. The bed creaks, the bed dipping the closer he got until his arms were back to being around me, pulling my back into his chest, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm glad that it's something unique, just like you." He plants a small kiss on the top of my shoulder, only just a peck.

"Don't...don't say stuff like that..." I mutter, catching myself from stuttering. A chuckle right next to my ear, feeling him nod.

"Don't worry, Hood. Before I met you, I hated the smell of Lavender. And now, I love it, along with the strong fragrance of..." He trails off, burying his nose into my hair, inhaling my scent.

"...Plum blossoms... Of course two different plants, flowers, just like your name, Iris." His hand slides up my arm, grabbing ahold of one of the hands still covering my blushing cheeks. He intertwines our fingers together, humming softly.

"So cute, pretty, beautiful..." He compliments me, his other hand mimicking his right, pulling my left away from my face and intertwining those fingers as well. "I'm glad that I found you, so glad..." He peppers my neck with kisses, and before we got too ahead of ourselves again, my grip tightens on his fingers, dodging a plant of his lips, snapping him out of it as I shift to sit sideways, facing him.

"L-Let's n-not." I stutter, watching him slowly nod in understanding seconds after. "Sorry... I didn't mean to lose control of myself like that."

"I had only meant to calm you down..." I mutter out truthfully. He grins in amusement, "Well, that had the opposite effect on me-" I slap his shoulder, "W-Well that wasn't the plan!" I shout and he giggles, shaking his head, "You are too cute." I hide my face away from him, swooping to lay my head against his chest. He doesn't seem to mind, moving his hand to grip my waist, the other to my left hand, playing with my fingers.

We fell into a comfortable silence, still needing to calm down our bodies after the steam that had arisen in the room, I still didn't understand what that was, how it spiraled into that... I didn't understand how he knew what he smelled like to me, dragon slayers each have their own scents, just as regular humans or wizards do. We aren't supposed to be able to know what we smelled like to other dragon slayers, so what was the mystery behind that?

_**To Be continued** _


	10. Chapter 10

Minutes pass before the conversation picked up again, reverting back to the previous topic, it had been almost an hour now since it began, and I was feeling drained from it all, but I had to continue.

"How were you able to show me that?" He asks me, an answer to a question I was able to explain to him.

"Memory Magic. Ancient Magic that isn't used a-anymore."

"Ancient Magic? Then how do you-" I shake my head up at him, "L-Let... I need to do it again. I-I don't kn-know how to explain it." He stares back down at me, thinking for a few moments before his eyes darken back into the dangerous black.

"I won't let you show me that-"

"He didn't catch me in the end, I promise," I tell him, the truth oozing out of my mouth. His brows raise in question at the sincerity in my voice. "I wouldn- would not have put myself through that again to see that outcome. Nor will I-I put you through it, as you would see it through my eyes." I inform him, raising my right hand in between us, resting it against his cheek, softly rubbing my thumb over the soft stubble that was beginning to grow along his jaw.

"Promise?" He hesitantly answers. I nod, "Promise." I lean up, his head dipping down to meet me. We share a small liplock, easing our body, effectively calming his body. I pull gently away from his lips for a moment, only an inch away, _**"Memory Magic: Recount."**_ I say the spell, waiting a moment for it to activate before reconnecting our lips again, hearing him grunt at the force I applied against him. Once my thoughts and memories were back to being in order, it shifted back into the past.

**-**

_My six-year-old legs pump as I ran on the farmland, the sound of my father's boots thudding against the ground leaving me to urgently pick up the pace, not giving myself a chance to catch my breath, nor to stumble or to look back at the crazed man yelling after me, cursing my name, shouting countless threats and what he would do to me once he finally caught me._

_I knew it was only a matter of time before he did. This past year before this day, I had become more interested in a new game called, 'Manhunt'. That I would play at school during break times, after a couple of months of playing it, I started to get so good at it, not even the teachers were able to find or catch me._

_I was going to use those skills now if I wanted to survive past today._

_"Get back here you bitch!" I ignored him, forcing my legs to continue running, to continue going faster. Through the fields of wheat, weaving around the pigs, mud shooting up my legs. "You are getting all dirty now!" He shouts, being a man who hates anything dirty, including his woman. I effectively was able to get away from him for a short while during my detour through the pigpen, he would follow me through it or near it since the area was surrounded by mud. Back then, I didn't realize how smart of me that was. Too caught up in the moment to really think it through about his weaknesses._

_However, my victory didn't last forever, as when I ran through the pigpen, it led directly into the barn._

_I ran to the heavy wooden doors, pushing against them, but they didn't budge. I whimper in fear, tears clouding my vision as I ram the side of my body against the doors, them not budging even a little bit. "Please..." I cry out, my eyes blown wide as I turn._

_"Wife!" I heard him shout outside those very doors, and I ran forward, hiding behind the tractor, my small body was hidden from his view._

_The doors slam open, the sound of colt cutters falling to the ground making me jump. I cover my mouth with my hands to muffle my sobs._

**-**

Sting pulls away from me, shaking his head, "Iris, I'm sorry I can't-" I shake my head, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

"I wouldn't be here if he had caught me." I reminded him, _**"Memory Magic: Recount."**_ I reactivated the spell and kissed him again, his head tilting more down and to the side, lip-locking me.

**-**

_"Where are you, wife?" He questions me, his voice a sickly teasing tone, "You want to be like Mommy, right?" I shake my head, no!_

_"If you want to be like Mommy, you have to be with your husband, right? Of course, you do!" He laughs, "In order to be a Mommy, you have to be with me. I have to impregnate you, darlin'. Don't worry, it will be fun and very nice!" I shiver, my six-year-old mind flashing to my mother screaming coming from the bedroom late at night, and the of the day afterward where she could barely walk, and I will see the dried blood trail down the insides of her legs. I didn't know how babies were made at that time, but I knew, had the sinking feeling, that whatever 'impregnate', my father meant. It was whatever he did to her in the dead of the night, every single night._

_"And there won't be a problem at all, Wife! We aren't related, so no incest children will be made from my sperm or your eggs!" I felt my body begin to grow hot, squirming at the uncomfortable heat rising from deep within me._

_"Because Mommy was a slut with another man! A man that wasn't her husband! How horrible, isn't it?! To cheat on her devoted! Do not worry, Wife, that fucking dead woman won't be able to get fucked by another man ever again now! And I will be sure to make sure that you won't either, understood?!" The heat festers within me. The sound of crunching hay under a boot freezes me, my breath hitching at the back of my throat, I stop breathing._

_"Wife~ I found you. I loved this foreplay, I am now standing tall just for you." He approaches me from the side as I snap out of it, I crawl backward in a meaningless attempt to get away from his as he undoes his belt, taking long strides towards me._

_"I can't wait, darlin'. It's going to be a fun evening, yeah?" Something snaps when my eyes catch the sight of a full gas can at the side of me, and without a second thought, I lunge for it. "Aww, are you not wet yet? Don't worry I can take good care of that for you-" I had unscrewed the cap and pushed myself back up to my legs, and with strength, I didn't know I was capable of, I threw the gasoline onto him, stopping him in his tracks. He yells out in pain, covering his eyes when splashes of gasoline got into them._

_The festering heat in my body didn't diminish, only strengthened. More and more, and from this point on, I was innocent anymore. I wasn't a child._

** _At age 6, I set my first fire._ **

_Flames ignited in my hands that was dripping with gasoline, and in effect, followed the gasoline trail to my father, the dazzling blue flames eating away at the man._

** _At 41 years old, ~~my father~~ was burned alive by his wife's daughter._ **

_I tuned out his screams of pain, the smell of piss and shit escaping him as his body expels every last thing from his as he dies._

_I didn't move, the fire spreading fast throughout the barn, licking at my ankles, and yet I didn't burn. My clothing burned off of my body, leaving me exposed to the elements._

_The barn collapses above me, and yet I still didn't move, only staring down at the burned bloody corpse of what was my father._

_The flames spread more and more, moving on from the bard and to the pigpen, to the fields of wheat, the extensive farmland, and to my childhood home, burning my mother's corpse inside of it, effectively cremating her, a wish that she always wanted._

_"When I pass away in the future, ask them to cremate me."_

_"What's that mean?"_

_"Cremate is when they burn a body to ash. Letting their spirit move on. Make sure the window is open when you do this."_

_"Okay, Mommy."_

**The fire still burns around me hours later, the field that was once my home now old ash and smoke.**

I walk mindlessly around the area with no clear direction in mind, only ending up going in circles, around and around...

Clouds blew over me, signaling a rainstorm was about to begin. If my mother was still alive, she would have rushed outside to take down the laundry, and I would laugh and run after her to help take down the clothes.

I stop at the edge of the field, looking into the trees of the forest, the dirt road ahead of me. But I made no move **to continue.**

I fell to my knees, the tiny stones digging into my legs, covered in ash and soot, the flames still licked at my skin as dried tears stained my cheeks.

_"Mommy?"_

_"Yes, Iris?"_

_"Why is my name Iris?"_ She smiles down at me, her blue eyes shining with love at the sight of me staring up at her. She stops drying the dishes, leaning down, and picks me up, setting me down onto the countertop, _"Why?"_

 _"Yeah! I-It was a-a a question at-at-at school today!"_ I struggle to get the words out, too excited to focus on slowing my speech down. She didn't reprimand me for it, only waited for me to finish patiently, having my full attention.

 _"Well, do you know the origin?"_ I shake my head, _"Iris is from a folktale about a Goddess."_

_"Ooo~"_

_"I learned it from a good friend of mine, she gave me a suggestion after learning that I was pregnant with you."_

_"A-Auntie Sara?"_ She shakes her head, _"Not Auntie."_

_"Then who?"_

_"A powerful and beautiful queen. Queen Dais."_

**The ground shakes as the big dark cloud hovering above made an impact with the ground, the holographic scales on the creatures reflecting in the light shining from the sunset. The dragon lets out a roar, but the little girl doesn't react, still tuned out to the world around her.**

The dragons let out a soft huff, but smiles and closes her bright blue eyes. The color of the sky. 

The dragon begins to morph until the large lifeform was nothing more than a human, short white hair cut to the middle of her neck and curled. Side bangs swooping effectively to the side and adorning a beautiful dress decorated with many jewels and different shades of green fabric, a silk pink sash wrapped around from one shoulder to the other. She walks forward, her bare feet getting covered immediately with black ash. She walks to the six-year-old girl, walking around her, gazing down upon her before lowering down onto her knees, sitting down in front of her.

Iris doesn't recognize the woman or really recognizes that she sat in front of her, staring past the woman.

"Iris, you have grown quite strong. I am glad." She smiles a sad smile, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"I'm sorry that I didn't find you sooner." She cries, sobs beginning to rack through her body, "I won't make that mistake again, letting her go. Letting you go." She reaches her hand out to her slowly, waiting for a reaction, but never gaining one. "Ren is so proud of you," She sobs, her hand meeting Iris's cheek for the first time.

"That man will never touch you or her again. I won't allow his soul to be purified, to be reincarnated, I won't allow him to walk this earth ever again when you still stand upon it." She declares, her tone lowering as a look of determination embraces her flawless face.

"You are mine, Iris. You were never his. You are mine and Ren's daughter, our child. He had no right to take you away from me, from us." She lets out a low chuckle, smiling softly as she leans scoots herself closer to the little girl, "When you were to be born, you should have received this from me, but that despicable man took you away before I could. But now, I can." She leans forward, brushing Iris' bangs out of her eyes and off of her forehead.

"You are my daughter, and forever will be." She pauses when she realizes that Iris' eyes weren't elsewhere anymore, they were now staring up at her curiously, bewildered, but unfazed by her touch.

To the six-year-old, the stranger's touch was familiar, despite never having seen this woman in her whole short life.

"I give you this gift, Iris Rainbaut." She kisses her forehead, a zap of magical energy releasing. A dormant power rising and exploding within Iris, the blue-haired girl feeling as if her body melted, relaxing in the woman's hold, falling forward. Symbols appear on Iris' skin, from the middle of her chest and down to the top of her bellybutton, the mark of a child created by two significant parties.

"I love you, and will protect you, forever and always." Purple wings morph out of her back, wings of a dragon, extending and stretching, softly flapping behind her.

"Welcome to the world, my gift to you." She states softly, "I am your mother, just as Ren is your mother. My kin, and hers. The power you now wield comes from her and I. Born with the power of a thousand suns and thousands of oceans. Night and days, countless hours and minutes..." She mutters to herself, standing up after scooping her child off of the ground, Iris' eyes slowly closing, feeling exhausted after the day she had endured.

"Sleep well, my child. I will be here when you awake. I promise, as Queen Dais." Her eyes swirl into a different color- No, of many colors, before Iris closes her eyes for the last time.

**At 6 years of age, Iris met her true biological parent, Dais.**

**-**

Iris gently pulls away from Sting's lips, the blond's eyes slowly opening as he processes what he just witnessed.

The dragon slayer- No, could she even be called that?

"My name is Iris Rainbaut, I am the daughter of Ren Rainbaut, the woman who carried me for eight months and carried for me for six- But, I am also the daughter of the Rainbow Dragon, Dais, the one who loved my mother enough to help create me. I was born of a dragon, and of a human fire wizard." It was her first full sentence where she didn't stutter, having narrated this to herself so many times in practice for the fateful day where she would have to tell someone if found out. An explanation. But for what was to come next... She didn't want to do it.

"Y-You-" Sting clears his throat, his eyes flickering back and forth between hers and down to her chest, not as a pervy thought, but to look for the symbol Dais had placed into her skin. "How the fuck did a dragon and a human-" His cheeks flame at the thought, shaking his head. Iris giggles, shaking her head.

"I would prefer not to-to think about that i-image." She covers her mouth momentarily before it is gently pulled away. She was expecting a million questions to pass his lips, but none came after, just a reassuring smile before he presses forward and pecks her lips loving, thinking, _'Fuck it all_ '. About thinking if it was truly his own feelings making him feel this way, or the bond between the two.

He didn't care anymore, he felt himself become so much closer to her through this experience. And he wanted to express how he fully felt about her.

He kisses both of her cheeks, her chin, and nose, the middle of her eyebrows, her forehead before back down to her lips. He smiles into the kiss, feeling her own lips quirk up against his, his heart pulsing.

He furrows his brows, breaking off the kiss momentarily as a question does arise, "Wait, your mom is a queen, right?" Iris nods, slightly confused. She did show him all of her Mum's words, right?

"Then I can call you my Princess." He watches her cheeks flush an adorable shade of scarlet. Iris squeaks like a mouse, darting forward to hide her face from him into his shoulder, gaining a laugh out of him.

He slowly lowers himself down, laying down on the mattress with her laying on top of him, their legs becoming tangled together.

"Iris."

"Hmm?" Iris flutters her eyes open, looking up at him to see him staring up at the ceiling, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Do you accept me?" She furrows her brows, "What do you mean?"

"As your mate." He looks down at her, meeting her gaze. He had expected to see her blushing again but is proven wrong when she stares back at him, confusion sprawled out on her face.

"What's a mate?".

_ **To Be continued** _

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewritten work of an old fanfiction of mine, named, 'Rainbow Dragon' from 2015. Which is available on Quotev!
> 
> This work, 'White Lightning' is available also on, Quotev and Wattpad. Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoy! :D -Golden


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